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 today

The guys talked about the recent switch to Daylight Savings Time. Paul noted that those running older versions of Unix, which hasn't been updated recently, may find that it uses the wrong date to do the time change. There is a database of world timezones called TZdata that keeps track of the latest changes to timezone laws. <Keep your software updated>

Speaking of updates, Paul said nothing older than Windows XP should be on the internet. Anything older is not supported with patches and might be ignored by some anti-virus programs, too.

KVMR has a new low-power translator (boosts the signal for a local area) in Woodland at 104.7 FM. Listeners were asked to try it and report their results to David Barnette via email to: engineer at kvmr dot org

Glenn said AT&T internet service is available along Highway 49 North of the South Yuba river. He's not sure if it's U-verse or DSL. To find out if it's available to you, go to att.com -> shop -> internet -> check for new service. He said it is available at the intersection of Pleasant Valley Road & Hwy 49.

Paul lamented that Firefox updates its browser so often. When he upgrades, the settings sometimes get changed from those he prefers.

Glenn said KVMR's office computer currently has a virus on it, possibly due to someone carelessly clicking in a popup window. He said the virus would sometime pop up a box saying something like "did you forget your password" and asking that a link be clicked to resolve the issue. But instead of solving your problem, it takes you to some advertisement. Paul called that a "link redirection virus" and said some of them could be very nasty.

He said some viruses come as a "blended threat" with multiple components. You might run an anti-virus check and get rid of some of it but other parts remain to reenable the threat. He recently had to deal with the pihar rootkit. Sometimes a rootkit is just one element of a virus. Rootkits infect "behind or below" the operating system making them more difficult to remove. On previous shows, Paul talked about Tdsskiller and Blacklight, which can be used to remove rootkits. Paul said Symantec also has a tool to remove pihar. <I think this might be it (NPE, Norton Power Eraser). Be sure to read the warning on that page>

Paul said Thunderbird (an email, RSS, newsgroup reader) now has the ability to put in Facebook messenger and a number of other thngs".

Paul noted that various versions of Windows are not true multi-user systems — they only seem that way on the surface. Linux, PS2 and Macs, on the other hand, do keep users completely partitioned off from each other.

Pam called. She's in the process of moving and wanted to know how to find out what choices she'll have for internet service.
– Ask the neighbors.
– Go to the websites of various providers and use their facilities to find if service is available. Try AT&T, SmarterBroadband, Spiral Internet (an agent for Digital Path). SmarterBroadband and Spiral Internet both offer line-of-sight wireless.
– Low on the list is satellite broadband thru Hughsnet and maybe DishTV.
– Internet thru your cell phone service is another possibility, but can be costly and have a limited data allowance (data cap).
– Be aware of the "get out" time, within which you have the chance to try the service and end it without penalty. Also, check the contract to be sure you're getting what you expect. Get it in writing — don't rely on verbal promises.

Paul said callers who didn't get their question resolved on air can email the guys at zen at kvmr dot org. In the email, note if you want your name mentioned during the show. In fact, you can email questions during the show, if you don't want to talk on air.

KVMR has a schedule of its broadcasts here. Glenn thanked all of the KVMR broadcasters & volunteers.

Ellen called. She has dead external drives and an old computer. She wanted to know how to scrub the data off the drives. She took a hammer to her drives, but wanted to know if there's a better way.
– There are software programs to do that but the drives have to be working. They scrub by overwriting the data several times with random bytes. Be sure you get such software from a trusted source — there may be some that harvest your date for nefarious reasons.
– Take the drives apart to get to the platters & destroy them. Some drives may require a special screwdriver called Torx, which you can get on Ebay for $8 or $9.
– Alternately, you can use the platters for wind chimes. Hang them on fishing lines and you might be pleasantly surprised by the sounds they make.
– If you want to scrub the drive in a computer you're selling, a reasonable approach is to reformat the drive & reinstall the operating system.

The Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed on this show are those of the speakers only and not necessarily those of KVMR, its board, managers, staff or contributors

Michael called. He wondered if microwaving a hard drive would destroy the data. Paul suggested putting a container of water in there too. He thought that the ovens need to dump their energy into an energy sink (the water) to prevent damage. Paul also suggested lowering the drive into a bucket of vinegar while it's connected to a power source and is spinning. The reason for vinegar is because it's conductive.

Michael said he has XP Home Edition and when he right-clicks, sometimes the context menu just briefly flash on and then goes away. He can't get it to stay open on the screen.
– Paul suggested he try a different mouse.
– If you find the mouse is the problem, try cleaning the inside.
– If you decide to replace the mouse, consider the optical type as they have fewer moving parts.

Michael also said he's not had internet service at home because his only option is to use dialup and he's gotten frustrated waiting for pictures to load. Now that he finally has wireless internet available in his area, he and wanted to know if he has to buy a bunch of hardware.
– No. They should provide an antenna modem, which goes on the outside of the house. That will service 1 computer.
– If you want to distribute the wireless signal to multiple devices inside, then you'll need to get a router.
– <For dialup users: you can also turn off image loading in many browsers. You may be surprised how little images add to the content. If you need to see an image, it's usually easy to load just that one.>

Paul searched for the words: windows xp no right click. He found some information at Microsoft in a forum called "groups microsoft public windows xp help". He said Microsoft is more trustworthy than other sites that offer help.

The instructions he found involved editing the registry. He said it's absolutely important to follow instructions when dealing with the registry. And, when reading forum messages, don't stop at the first proposed fix, read the follow-up messages before trying a remedy.

Glenn said his Asus netbook needs to have the operating system reinstalled because it running so slow. He said he found out the it doesn't have a partition from which he can do the reinstall and Asus wanted $50 to send him an installation DVD. He said he'll try to install from an after-market version of XP.

Paul wondered about the experience people have had with Windows 8. You can get a licensed version of Win8 for $39 but he didn't look favorably on the tiling system it uses. The tiles are similar to the apps on the mobile phones but many people hate them on a desktop computer. He said there is an app called Desktop that's supposed to replace tiles with the familiar desktop. There's something similar already built-in to Win8, but you have to look for it.
– If you have the Vista version of Windows, you'd do well to get Win8.
– If you have Win7, he doesn't see a compelling reason get Win8.
– If you have XP, hold on to it as long as it's working.

Glenn asked if one could buy a Windows 8 machine and put XP on it. Paul said it's not easy. Older versions of the PC had only a BIOS (Basic Input Output System), which handled the input/output of the keyboard, mouse, drive, etc. With Win8 Microsoft requires manufacturers to have additional firmware called UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface). He said it keeps your product code in firmware to make hacking and stealing more difficult.

Paul said one could put Win8 on machines that don't have UEFI if they have enough horsepower to run it. It's just that Microsoft does not allow manufactures to distribute Win8 unless the machine has UEFI.

Daine <day.nee> called. She just got a MacBook Pro with Mountain Lion (operating system) and wanted to know if she can put Windows 8 on it.
– Glenn said Macs that use the Intel processor can handle any version of Windows.
– Paul said he'll have a more detailed answer for her next time.

Paul asked how do you tell if a program you're about to download is not adware or just a demo version.
– Glenn said, if he does a Google search, he looks at the URL of the link to give him a clue about the website it goes to. Otherwise, it's hard to explain what to look for.
– Paul didn't have a good solution either. It seemed all he had to suggest is that past experience with bogus downloads helps to build an intuitive sense for these things.

Last updated 11:16 PM 3/13/2013

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 < >

ISPs (internet service providers) are poised to implement a warning system for those suspected of illegal downloading. The ISPs include 5 or 6 of the largest like Comcast, Verizon, AT&T and Cox Cable. "They will, to some extent, permit the monitoring of the traffic coming and going from your internet connection and will launch a complaint against you if one of the copyright stakeholders discovers their movie or intellectual property being pirated". It's called Six Strikes or the Copyright Alert System (CAS).

Paul said a third party is authorized to log into pirate sites like Pirate Bay and monitor traffic. They will look for pirated works and possibly even put up fake content to see who downloads it, though the entrapment issues may limit use of that ruse. "Normally, there's a slap-on-the-wrist fine of $35 if you keep doing it". They may also throttle your connection speed. But you can then get your privileges back after viewing an educational video — similar to driving school after getting a speeding ticket.
<There's a bit more about CAS toward the end of this page.
Articles & radio shows about the CAS…
The Copyright Alert System and Six Strikes (audio & transcript):
Related: They Might Be Pirates: Who Is Really Sharing Digital Media (audio & transcript):
Article: US Adopts 'Six Strikes' Internet Piracy Policy

Piracy Alert System Raises Concerns About Fair Use, Misidentification (audio):
More info about the copyright warnings (CAS):
Resources & FAQ (CAS):

Glenn asked for clarification about who does the monitoring.
– The copyright holders gained permission from the ISPs to have contact information of suspected violators provided. <The copyright holders will use this contact info to issue warnings to the violators, I presume>
– The jury is still out about the consequences for the violators.
– Search Google for the words: ISP piracy warnings.
– Pay attention to any warnings you receive.

Be careful about clicking links in emailed warnings — they may be phishing attacks. There's often an increase of such attacks after the news of initiatives like this Copyright Alert System (CAS). In fact, this applies to all email you get. If you get a email warning or notification from your ISP, the alternative to clicking a link is to place a phone call to your provider. Rather than clicking on links in emails, type in the known, good web address for the website in question.

On a related note, Paul again mentioned that hundreds of thousands of Yahoo mail accounts have been broken into. Be suspicious of mail from a Yahoo account even if you know its true owner, as their account may have been compromised.

Over the years, Paul had done an informal survey about what people think is the number 1 security problem. Most got it wrong. From what Paul learned, the number 1 security problem is physical theft — stolen hardware. With the recent increased popularity of flash drives, theft of media is now #1. Be careful what you backup to flash drives — account numbers, passwords and such.

Glenn noted that with their increase of quality and decrease in price, surveillance cameras in the home are a good idea.

That led Paul to talk about the recent Russian meteor and the number of videos documenting it. Due to their failing judicial system and the need to make a case in court after traffic accidents, car dashboard cameras are very popular there. Some use the camera in an Android tablet pointed out the window. The tablet's built-in GPS and clock document the exact location and time of an accident.

Paul again mentioned that he's no too happy with the Android tablet he bought recently. But, he likes the Android on a Stick, which he talked about on the last show and on 1-23-13.

Glenn said he got the Vizio Costar he talked about on last week's show. It's a Google TV device selling for $99. He's not happy with it. He tried to download an app to play content from NBC but got the message that the app was not compatible with his device. While on the air, he got a reply from Vizio saying the apps for NBC & ABC will not work on the Costar because both companies have all of the Google devices blocked. Paul thought that's because the Costar is identified as a Google TV device, not a <generic> Android device (Android is the operating system by Google as opposed to the service called Google TV). It's a branding or licensing issue.

While playing a movie from a flash drive, the Costar would only allow him to Play, Stop and Pause — no fast forward/backward. Paul said there are different movie-playing apps at Google Play and since the Costar is an Android device, he implied an alternate player might work better. Paul said Android has to support so many platforms and so many devices, not all of the apps will work all of the time on all of them.

Paul noted that for Android & iPad you can get the free Kindle app. <It's available for the desktop PC, too> You don't have to have the Kindle to read books, newspapers etc. With the app & an Amazon account you get much of the same content — even a lot of free books. The quality of the display will vary, of course, with the device on which you install the app — it may not be as good as the Kindle.

Glenn wondered if the new Kindle Fire, with its color display, is as good for reading as the regular Kindle. Paul said he's seen one only briefly and he wants to evaluate it further, but the text does look good. Because the Kindle Fire (and its HD version) is pricey, he suggested that a lower-priced tablet <using a Kindle app> may be adequate. And, he said, the Kindle is more like a reading device with Android capability rather than an Android device with reading capability.

Glenn thanked the supporters of KVMR. <To become a member, visit KVMR>

Bonnie Lee called. She wanted to know what information is stored in digital photos and how to access it.
– When you take a picture with an iPhone, there is extra info stored along with the photo called exif data.
– Part of the data is the latitude & longitude of where the picture was taken.
– You can turn off that feature on the iPhone, it's under 'Settings' — look for location services.
– Bonnie is using a regular camera so it probably doesn't store the location data, though a few high-end cameras might.
– Some websites where you upload photos, Ebay or Craigslist, may strip out that data, but check with them to be sure.
– Paul found the website exifdata.com. You can upload a photo and it will tell you what info is stored with it.
– Some software will let you examine a photo's exif data using your home computer. Glenn found Picture Information Extractor at download.com.

Paul offered a tip for those with a smartphone but who want to use a quality camera that doesn't have the exif. Take the same photo with both. The smartphone will record the time & location and the camera takes the picture you'll want to keep. You can match them up later.

When Paul wants to get reliable details on some tech story, like the Copyright Alert System, he'll do a Google search and look for results that come from PC Magazine, Cnet or Techcrunch. Google tends to list the more reliable sources near the beginning.

Continuing the discussion about Glenn's Vizio problems, Paul said he download the Google TV app for his Android device and it works fine. He pays for each video he wants to watch. Downton Abbey is $1.99 per episode, he said, but he doesn't know if you get to keep it or only watch it for a limited time.

Ross called to ask about ZRTP by Phil Zimmerman (creator of PGP). It's supposed to encrypt data between 2 computers on the internet (both have to be running ZRTP). He wondered if it can be used to circumvent the Copyright Alert System (CAS) by disguising the size of the data being sent.
– Paul said that's one of failures of cryptography — it's not straightforward to mask the size of the message. Extra (useless) data would have to be inserted between the useful data.
– Ross said that, supposedly, is what ZRTP does. In that case, Paul said, you have to be careful about exceeding the data limits (caps) imposed by your ISP. <The inserted data adds to the file size>
– Paul said the Copyright Alert System is designed to detect who you're connecting with (your peer in a peer-to-peer connection) but not look at what data is being transferred.
– Paul: "if you encrypt something you better encrypt everything". You'll draw more attention if you look like you made a special effort than if you encrypt everything by default <I think is what he meant to say>.
<General info on ZRTP; see "External links" on that page.
This place has ZRTP apps for Android; iPhone; PC desktop (I'm not endorsing this site — buyer beware)>

There was some talk about anonymity and trust. Some highlights…
– Anonymity can come from disappearing in the crowd. By not having a phone or the internet, etc. you draw attention to yourself.
– Use your judgment about giving true information when signing up for some internet services — they're likely to let you in anyway.
– You can be more revealing in proportion to the trust you have. <Banks, utility companies, close friends>
– You don't always know how much to trust. Yes and No are not the only answers to the question of trust. Error on the side of caution.

Last updated  11:31 PM 2/27/2013

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 < >

Paul & Glenn were in the studio with their guest Andrew Lauder of myLanguage

myLanguage makes language translation applications for mobile devices. Their new app is called Vocre, which facilitates vocal conversations between people who speak different languages. <More about that later>

Paul followed up on the PD10 Android tablet he mentioned on the 1-23-13 show. <See those notes for details> He admonished listeners to be careful what website you get the feature list from. He made the mistake of getting the info from the manufacture's site: info predicated on buying 10,000 units. That webpage said the unit included both front & back-facing cameras and GPS. The unit he bought from a vender had neither.

He also talked about "Android on a stick" on the 1-23-13 show and today he added more details.
– It takes about 45sec to boot up.
– It can take up to a 32gig micro SD card. He found such a card for $19.
– It can access the Google app store called Google Play.
– To use it you'll need to have a USB port to supply the required 5 volts of power, an HDMI monitor/TV and a USB mouse. You don't need a keyboard because "Android pops up a keyboard as required on your screen". <TV screens are not multi-touch capable so I guess you have to use your mouse to click on the letters>
– It has BlueTooth so you can get a cheap BlueTooth keyboard for it.
– If you want multi-touch, you can get a multi-touch mouse pad.

Glenn mentioned that Vizio, the brand of his TV, offers a smart-TV add-on called Costar for $99, which has a touch pad. However, there may be some problems with it and Amazon has put sales on hold.
– It has Google TV.
– It has the Chrome web browser.
– It can run various apps.
– Its main purpose is to bring smart-TV apps like Netflix, Voodoo, Youtube to your TV.

Paul got a similar smart-TV device for $55, which he identified only by what's in it: RK3066 (the number of the chipset in the device). He went on to say many TVs you buy these days have network capability to receive services like Netflix, but "they're usually proprietary". A friend of his bought a smart-TV thinking he'll be able to plug in a USB camera, but it turned out he'd have to buy a particular camera from the TV manufacturer.
– It can take flash memory (where you can store your movies).
– He recommended a free app called X-plore to go with it, so you can see and manage the files you have stored. It also shows the contents of your web-based storage: Picasa, Google Drive and many others
– He said he's "never seen this much horsepower in a small package"……
– The unit has a 1.6 gigaHz duo-core RISC processor licensed by ARM and a "respectable graphics processor" for 3-D rendering.

Paul said he loves the latest WordPress. It's entirely web-based where it can update itself. And you can use plugins or webapps. You can install it on your computer or use the version on the WordPress website. He said it seems to have pulled ahead, in popularity, of competing platforms like Joomla.
<For more about WordPress, see the notes for the 8-22-12 show>

Andrew Lauder was reintroduced and he spoke a bit about his Vocre app. It does language translation as you speak to someone on your mobile device. You push the record button and speak. It does the translating and sends the result to the other person in their own language. They, in turn, follow a similar process and you can carry on a conversation.

Glenn had a chance to try it last night and found it to be very speedy. He's planning to go to southern Europe and tried translating into Spanish & Greek, but he had no foreign speakers to evaluate the accuracy of the translations. He sent the result to a couple of Greek speakers but hasn't heard back yet.

Paul said the pronunciation is good. The voice doesn't sound synthesized. Andrew said it's based on actual human speech and mimics the flow of the speech by matching, and then using, the appropriate phonemes.

He said Vocre uses the Nuance speech recognizer. What you say is sent to Nuance (on the web) where the recognition is done. Nuance converts what you've said to text, which is then sent to another business partner called iSpeech to convert the text into a human-sounding voice. And that eventually is sent to whom you are speaking in their language. Vocre is available at the iPhone app store and the Google Play store for $2.99. In the Google Play store, browse the Travel category, it's pretty highly ranked there.

The guys did a brief test of Vocre by translating an English sentence into German and then translating it back to check the accuracy. It did pretty well.

Andrew said they started the development of the Vocre app in 2008 and it came out for the iPhone first. His inspiration came when he visited Greece and had only moderate success in carrying on a conversation.

While the others were talking, Glenn pasted some English text into the app and had it converted to Spanish. He then played it on air and asked any Spanish-speaking listeners to call in to give their impressions. <No one called during the show>

There was some talk about the algorithms used in translation: how similar common phrases <"hello, how are you" "how do you do" etc.> are mapped to one phrase in the foreign language.

Paul said there is a free developer tool called Xcode Tools <apparently for Apple only> for developing mobile apps. He wondered if Vocre was written using Xcode. Andrew said the iPhone version was, but not the Android version. The Android version was written in Sencha: an HTML5 tool.

Talking about the developer environment, Andrew said the Apple community seems more supportive in sharing code and such. He also said it's easier to try an app and get your money back from Google Play, whereas that's quite difficult to do at the iPhone store.

Paul talked a bit about Youtube moving to HTML5 and away from Flash. He tried using it with Flash turned off and only using HTML5 and said it's currently unusable because it kept nagging him to download a plugin. Andrew suggested he change the "User Agent" setting to make it look like he was using an iPad and thus forcing Youtube to use HTML5 to stream the video. There are several extensions for Firefox & Chrome that allow you to change the User Agent.
<User Agent setting tells the website that you're visiting what type of browser you're using.>

Andrew said there is an app for iPhone & iPad that allows you to use website with Flash content. It converts the Flash content to a form that the iDevice can then display. He wasn't sure about the name but thought it might be SkyFire. <Apparently it's a browser & available for Android too>

Glenn said he'll be talking about the jailbreaking of his iPhone 3GS and that Skype & Direct TV no longer work. He expects to do that on the next show.

Paul mentioned evasi0n.com <He really butchered the sentence and didn't say what it was, but from what I've, heard it's a very popular jailbreak for Apple's iOS 6>

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

Paul said the podcast of this show MIGHT be put up on KVMR. Go to kvmr.org and look for the podcast link.

Last updated 10:29 PM 2/13/2013

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.

Glenn was in the studio. Paul was in the Bay Area but didn't call in.

Hugh called. He recently went on to Google Earth and found he couldn't access Street View, as he had been able to before.
– Use Google Maps to access it instead.
– Glenn did a search using the Safari browser on his iPad and found a discussion on Google groups dated Oct 8, 2012 where it said "street view is no longer available on older versions of Google Earth, so you may need to upgrade". So, upgrading may be the answer

Glenn made a pitch for membership to KVMR.

Neil called in with a networking problem. He has computers in both his shop and house which has a printer attached, and both are using wi-fi. He had to reinstall the XP operating system on the shop computer and now can't get it to use the printer in the house.
– At this point Buzz, an engineer at KVMR, joined Glenn in the studio,
– "Search for that computer on the network and then once you find the computer, find out about its shares".
– <Using the Control Panel> Go to 'Printers and Other Hardware' -> 'Add a Printer' and checkmark "A network printer or a printer attached to another computer". Neil said he tried that and it couldn't find a printer.
– That being the case, Glenn suggested, find the name of the printer and enter it where it says Connect to this printer.
– Buzz said, make sure both computers are in the same workgroup, which he thinks is the default condition.
– Glenn said he'll be in the KVMR office after the show and suggested that Neil call him for further trouble shooting. The office phone is 530-265-9073.
– After Neil hung up, Buzz said make sure both computers are using the same router.
– Glenn added, if the router has a printer port, connect the printer to it directly. Or use the printer's wireless connection, if it has one.

Glenn noted that, sales-wise, tablets overtook cell phones as gifts last Christmas.

That led Buzz to wonder about ChromeBooks. Glenn said a recent caller had a ChromeBook and was asked to call again, after he had formed an opinion, to give a review. That was a stripped-down model costing $249. He asked listeners who have a ChromeBook to call in.

Ross called in to say he's heard of legislation making it illegal to unlock a cell phone.
– In the past the carriers were under no obligation to unlock, until about a year ago.
– Since about April or May of this year, AT&T will unlock your phone after your contract expires or if you're going abroad. You have to call AT&T or do it on their website; It takes 24 to 96 hours for them to complete the process.
– Glenn thought the legislation might have something to do with jailbreaking a phone. If you jailbreak a phone, there are then 'unlocks' available for that phone.
– Buzz said there is the right way and wrong way to unlock a phone and the carriers don't want stolen phones being unlocked (the wrong way).
<A Right to Unlock Cellphones Fades Away>

Buzz went on to say that jailbreaking allows you to get root access to the phones operating system to do things the manufacturer didn't want you to do. As an example, he said a lot of phones have an FM chip inside but it's not built to receive radio signals. In some cases, jailbreaking can allow you to activate it.

Ross then asked if there's a website where one can find out what these hidden features are for various phones. He thought it would be good to know the full potential of a phone when shopping for one. Buzz said he didn't know of such a website and that it would probably take a lot of searching. He found out about the FM chip at radio-discussions.com. Buzz said things change so quickly that a lot of hacking information becomes obsolete or unreliable and that he wouldn't choose a phone on its hidden features.

Ross wondered of it's possible to ruin a phone doing these hacks. Glenn said it's possible though it typically would not.

Ross thought the companies engage in planned obsolescence. Glenn said they don't want you to be able to do something that a carrier can charge you for. For instance, if you activate the FM chip, you wouldn't buy an app that lets you receive internet radio and you wouldn't use, and pay for, the carrier's network.

Glenn said most phones have the ability to be a personal hotspot. Setting up a hotspot can be done thru jailbreaking or you can pay the carrier to set it up and then be charged a monthly fee to use the hotspot.

Joshua called. He prepared a presentation using Keynote and now the pictures are missing, there are only box outlines where the pics are supposed to be.
– Glenn thought that Keynote, like many programs, uses aliases (also known as a shortcut) to reference the pictures and that something got moved. Aliases just point to the pictures but are not pictures themselves. So Glenn thought something got moved so the aliases are pointing to the wrong location.
– He suggested that Joshua go back into Keynote and there might be a place where Keynote can be made to locate the pictures.
– He said give that a try and if he needs more help to call the office after the show.

Peter called to talk about he ChromeBook 5 (the 2nd generation, not the current one). He likes it.
– It's light.
– It comes on instantly.
– It can access most of the things he wants to do.
– One drawback is the battery is built-in so he can't take it out when using AC, He use to do that with his laptop to prevent the battery from wearing out. Built-in batteries seem to be the trend with a lot of portable devices.
– Glenn asked if it's a tablet or a PC. Peter said it's a clamshell PC.
– It's like a PC with the Chrome browser always open. But it still allows you to open some types of files.
– It has a 16gig solid state hard drive and a SD card slot.
– Unlike his iPad, it does run Flash content.
– It opens .pdf files within the browser.
– It can open Excel and Word files if they're not too complex. He writes academic documents and cross references and footnotes are problematic.

Marilyn called. She had data recovered from old hard drive that crashed. She had been moving the recovered files to a new computer but didn't want those files to overwrite any new files she's created on the new machine. She heard about a program called Ztree. It's supposed to be able to prevent overwriting. The recovered data totals 83,000 files in many subdirectories and wondered if Ztree is up to the task.
– Glenn looked up their website and noticed they have a tutorial that might help her.
– In the future look, for a backup program that does incremental backups where only the part that changes gets backed up, not entire files. But Marilyn said that was the type of backup program she was using and when she tried to retrieve the files, their names were just numbers and she couldn't relate them to the names she used when she first created the files.
– Glenn asked her to email him so they can deal with it later…Paul might have some suggestions.

Ed called. He has Mac. Any folder he tries to open has a random selection of photograph icons on the top bar. He doesn't know how they got there or how to get rid of them.
– Glenn thought he has the computer set to display thumbnails when there are pictures in the folder.

Ed also asked about how file sizes are displayed when he burns a CD. When he drags a file, the alias is reported as being about 3K but the running total reflects the actual size of the file (20meg, for instance). He wanted to know if the actual 20meg file will be burned, or only the alias.
– Glenn thought the real file would be burned, as expected. He should give it a try: at worst he'll waste just one CD.
– He suggested Ed call him after the show.

James called. He uses a HP laptop and his Firefox browser won't open. When it does, it works for 3 or 4 days and then stops.
– Glenn speculated it might be a hardware issue, but didn't have enough time to continue. James was asked to call after the show.

Last updated 10:24 PM 1/30/2013

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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

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