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.

NOTE: Glenn said there will be a Zentech show next Wed, 6-27-12

Paul stated the disclaimer before any tech talk:
"Views and opinions expressed on this show are those of the speakers only and don't necessarily represent those of anybody, anywhere, anytime you've seen for any reason whatsoever."

The Bike Talk show had a broadcast in place of Zentech last week to cover a bike race and a soap box derby. Glenn was at the derby and he mentioned that the local Maker group, The Curious Forge, was involved.

Paul reminded us that the Summer solstice happens today. The length of daylight hours is at a maximum and will start getting shorter, slowly at first and then at a quickening pace.

Glenn has had trouble coordinating (synching) his calendar & contact list between his PC netbook, iPhone, iMac and a cloud service that he uses.

Glenn said his iMac's Duo Core Intel processor may not be able to run the Lion operating system (version 10.7). He thinks a Core 2 Duo processor is required. Paul confirmed that there is a work-around that Glenn can use as long is it isn't anything later than version 10.7.3 (approx.) that he's trying to install.

Paul said you can access your iCloud service with any machine by going to icloud.com. But to do so, you had to have previously synched at least once with an Apple device. Paul suggested that Glenn use the "backup" option to send his calendar data to iCloud; Glenn said he couldn't find a "synch" option.

Paul suggested Glenn login to his iCloud account and check the calendar to see which of his calendars are synched there. Also, Paul thought there is a PC app that lets you synch a Gmail account with Outlook, and a couple of other applications.

Paul said that people sometimes blame technology for problems they're having when, often, there was a design choice between mutually exclusive, but equally valid, methods. Paul's example: if you have 5 devices, should they have their own calendar or share only 1 calendar. There can be a complex logistical problem rather than a design fault.

Paul mentioned that RIM (Research In Motion) had made some poor choices and it's Blackberry is struggling to stay relevant, along with Nokia. Initially, Paul liked a physical keyboard of the Blackberry but it didn't take long to get used the touch screen keyboard, and he'll never go back.

Glenn got a message from T-Mobile stating that their merger with AT&T is off. In spite of that, they are expanding their 4G network, they said. However, Glenn's phone is the 3GS iPhone which can't take advantage of that, it only uses the EDGE network.

Paul said Cricket is offering a pay-as-you-go prepaid phone service. You buy a SIM card <along with the phone> from them and then buy as much usage as you need.
– You buy the iPhone at full price, unlike other carriers who sell the iPhone at a discount and then charge high monthly fees while under a 2 year contract. In the long run, you can save yourself significant money with Cricket or the similar service called Virgin Mobile USA.
– Beware that the phone you'll be buying is specifically designed to be used with a particular carrier (e.g. Cricket) and you can't take it to an AT&T plan.
– AT&T also offers a pay-as-you-go service but you have to buy voice, text (txt) and data separately, and the total you'll pay is close to their full service plan.
– In Europe you only have to buy the SIM card and put it into any GSM phone. Unlike the USA, they've decoupled the service & the phone.
– CDMA phones (Verizon, Sprint) require you to take it into the retailer to switch carriers. GSM phones (AT&T, T-Mobile) make that easier — they use the easily switchable SIM card.
– When Paul switches SIMs, he keeps the unused one taped (electrician's tape) to the inside of the back cover. Another thing to keep there is a SIM extraction tool.
– Glenn mentioned something called the SIM tray. He didn't describe it well but said it contains the IMEI & serial numbers for the phone and admonished listeners not to lose it.

John called. He has an old Claris Works document and he can't get it to open "in pages". For years, he's been transferring it from one Mac to another but his latest iMac desktop won't open it.
– Use the free Open Office suit for the Mac. That will open it.
– Once open, save it out in another, more common format.
– There are some converter programs you can buy.

Murdock called wanting to know how to convert audiocassette tapes to CDs.
– Many cassette players have a "phono" output <or a line-out jack> that you connect to your computer's line-in jack.
– Use Audacity to set the proper volume and clean up any noise. Audacity is a free sound-editing program.
– Get a tape head demagnetizer from Ebay, Amazon or Radio Shack and, following its instructions, demagnetize the heads in the tape deck. Also, clean the heads with alcohol. Do this to minimize distortion.
– As he was talking, Paul found, on the internet, the GGI USB Cassette to MP3 converter for about $28.. This may be a simpler solution.
– The music on your tapes may be available by other means <as music files on the internet, with possibly better quality>.

Ray sent in an email asking for an opinion about E Ink book readers. He thinks they may be a bit sluggish. And what about using an iPad as a book reader?
– The $400 to $600 for an iPad is pricey for a book reader unless you can take advantage of its other features.
– Paul finds it easier to read on an E Ink device. They simulate the experience of ink on paper as opposed to a lit screen.
– E Ink works better in bright outdoor conditions.
– E Ink doesn't use much energy so batteries last much longer.
– E Ink does indeed respond slowly. That's fine for reading but you're not going to play video games with it.
– Whichever device you get, it's likely able to read .pdf files — you're not limited to buying books. You can put the manuals (in .pdf format) for all of your devices on a reader to make them easily available, just as an example.

Ray, who wrote the email, called. He's wants the device for his mom who forgets to recharge her phone. He thought she would be happy with the 1-month battery life of an E Ink reader.
– Paul thought it would be easier to remember to charge a device if it came with a stand.
– Ray found a basic Kindle or Nook costs in the $80 to $100 range, and the Kindle comes with free cellular connectivity to facilitate buying books.
– Paul said the advantage to book readers is the ability to zoom in on the text <for people with eyesight problems>.
– Web pages tend to look crummy on book readers. If surfing the web is important, you may want to get 2 different devices.
– Check the return policy. Often you have 15 days to evaluate the product.
– Ray noted that the iPad can have a Bluetooth keyboard attached to it.
– Ray also noted that the Kindle has the ability to read aloud. <Wasn't clear if it needed additional hardware>
– Paul said, if reading aloud is desirable, there is a service called Audible that sells audio books.
– Ray said he's leaning toward the Nook because it has a SD slot.

Lastly, Paul said don't Yahoo! He's seen so many people who've had their accounts broken into, even those using recently changed, strong passwords. He thinks someone has stolen the password database. People using SBC Global and AT&T Net are included — those services use Yahoo.

Last updated:  9:23 PM 6/20/2012

There was no show on 4-25-12 — the show Adios Babylon was extended to 2 hours.

Next show is on May 23.
But on May 30 (the 5th Wed) is the membership drive and there will be NO show

CrashPlan.Com Backup free to your own equipment OR pay for their.s
All Platforms!

Google Drive http://drive.google.com and it DOWN sides in End User License.

 StuxNet – a virus to attack industrial systems. Cloak & Dagger stuff!

Linux + Andoid? Ubuntu!

Exciting 3 hr video of Logs Burning In Fire . HMMM!

High Dynamic Range (Hypereal?) photographs…

Online Multi Virus Scanner http://virusscan.jotti.org/en

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.

Glenn reminded us that KVMR is a community-supported radio station. You can become a member by following a link on the main page: kvmr.org

Paul mentioned that KVMR has podcasts of some of the broadcasts. Check them out here. "click on the word 'podcast'. They are arranged chronologically.

Glenn said AT&T will now unlock your out-of-contract phone.
– Some of their people don't know about it or know how to do it. <Be persistent, I guess>
– Glenn was able to have AT&T contact the original owner of his second-hand iPhone. They verified that the phone was sold to Glenn and that it was not lost or stolen.
– Eventually, AT&T told him to go to iTunes and his phone will be unlocked with the next update/restore.
– Glenn is now using the unlocked phone with T-Mobile and he's paying $65/mo for unlimited everything.

Paul doesn't have a data plan with his phone so he uses the Tom Tom GPS software, which can be bought for $39. It's a large download of about 1.5gig. <More about it in 12-28-11 show notes>
– With that, you get all of the maps of the USA.
– Unlike Google maps, which entails connecting to the Google server, the Tom Tom software comes up faster and it works in places without a cell connection.

If you can do text (txt) messages, you can send to Google words similar to: directions Nevada City Rocklin. Google will return a text message giving the directions. The number to send it to is the word "Google" represented by the numbers on the keypad.
– First of all, send the word "help" to Google and you'll get a list of commands to use.
– One of the commands is "location". If you send the command location 95945, from then on Google will reference further queries to that location. E.g. you can text "here to Charmichael" and Google knows that 'here' means the zipcode 95945. Or text "Thai restuarant" and it will locate one nearby.
– This only requires the SMS service and not a full data plan.
– Paul said it works pretty well and has saved him the cost of a data plan.
– Don't do this while driving.

The disclaimer:
Any opinions you hear on KVMR and especially this show is that of the speaker and not that of the station, its staff, board, volunteers and underwriters.

Glenn talked about CrashPlan, a backup service. See the above link.
– The paid version allows you to back up your data to their servers. The free plan will back up your data locally: on a USB flash drive, for instance.
– CrashPlan allows you to send your data to a third party via the internet. E.g. you can send it to friend's hard drive for storage, if they give permission.

Paul said that programs like CrashPlan would usually require one to configure their local router & firewall. But CrashPlan uses a proxy server: a computer that intervenes between the source of the data and its destination (your friend's hard drive), so no geeky configuration is required.
– Paul brought this up because there is a privacy issue: a proxy server allows someone to see anything going thru it.
– To insure privacy, he said, store your data on a flash drive and put it in a safe deposit box.
– Glenn added that you can also encrypt the data first. He also said that CrashPlan similar to the Carbonite service.
– What you back up shouldn't be near the machine that has been backed up, so they wouldn't be subject to the same catastrophe.

Google Drive is a new service that gives you 5gig of free storage. Similar to other Google services like docs.google.com, mail.google.com, voice.google.com, calendar.google.com, you get to Google Drive with drive.google.com.
– When you activate the service, you'll be asked to download a piece of software to facilitate its use.
– You can pay for additional storage capacity.
– The downloaded program creates a folder in My Documents and its icon sits in your system tray (the box in the lower right of the screen).
– There is version for the Mac.
– It doesn't just blindly upload files but, instead, synchronizes them (makes sure the local & remote files are the same).
– It's fault tolerant. "If you lose your internet connection, what ever stage you reached, you will have those files"
– There is no essential limit to the number of devices you can login with.
– If you store documents compatible with Google Docs (Word, Excel, etc.), "you'll be able to see them" <see them in Google Docs is implied>.
– Previously you needed a program called CyberDuck to transfer files to & from Google, but no longer while using Google Drive. <More about CyberDuck in the 4-27-11 show notes>

Another Google service is music.google.com. It allows you to store up to 20,000 songs.
– Again, there is a program to download and it synchronizes your music with the service.
– Google doesn't seem to care about the amount of the data, just the number of songs.

The iTunes service was mentioned. If you bought music from iTunes, you can have it stored on the Apple server without actually uploading the songs. It keeps track of what you bought and serves you a fresh copy from its archive whenever you request it. If you want to upload music that you didn't buy from iTunes, Apple has a service called Match which costs $20/yr. With it you can synchronize up to 5 machines.

Bonnie called. She had read an article about smartphone cameras being used surreptitiously to spy on their owners.
– Both the Android & iPhone operating system have poor control over what the various apps do. <be careful about what apps you download>
– At one time, Apple had problems with phone companies leaving keyloggers on the iPhone. The phone companies were able to gather statistics about the phone's usage, ostensibly to improve service.
– Paul thought it's possible to do what Bonnie fears, but Glenn thought it unlikely — he hasn't heard of it happening
– snopes.com is a site where rumors are debunked. <Implied: Bonnie's article was spreading a rumor>
– Use opaque tape, that doesn't leave much residue, over the cameras: electrical or PVC tape might work.

There's an interesting article about the Stuxnet virus. It was specially written to target particular industrial equipment: uranium enrichment equipment in Iran. See the above link

Jim called. He's thought about buying a new phone and unlocking it. He noted how Glenn now uses T-Mobile on his unlocked phone.
– T-Mobile & AT&T use GSM. Glenn's unlocked phone just needed a T-Mobile SIM card to use that service. CDMA phones (using Verizon or Sprint) have to be taken to a retailer if you want to switch providers.
– Jim was warned by a retailer not to unlock a phone or there will be a loss of function. Paul said the word "unlock" was not properly used in this case. A phone that's unlocked by a provider should not have problems.
– To unlock a phone you need to have fulfilled your 18 month or 2 year contract. A used phone (as in Glenn's case) requires contact with the original owner.
– In the UK it's easier to have the phone unlocked as long as your contract is paid up (but not expired). That makes it possible to use the phone abroad by swapping the SIM card, and not have to wait for the contract to end.
– Officially, AT&T is committed to unlock smartphones past their contract but not everybody there is up to speed or even knows about it.
– For a new phone check frys.com. Click at the top where it says 2-day sale. You'll eventually come to a page where new, unlocked phones are sold.
– If you get an unlocked iPhone and put in it your current SIM card <from AT&T>, AT&T will treat you like other iPhone users and reserve the right to charge you for a $20 or $30 a month data plan that's required of iPhone customers.
– Check Ebay & Craigslist for used phones. Just remember to get contact info from the original owner in case you need to have it unlocked.

Jim went on to say that his Mac laptop sometimes makes several "boing" sounds in a row like he's being summoned to a chat room.
– Check the dock at the bottom to see what programs are running. You may have set some app to load at start up time <that's causing the problem>.
– You can disable a program from running at startup by holding down the mouse button while the pointer is over one of the apps. Then click "options" and uncheck "launch at startup".

Jim also suggested blue painters tape for Bonnie (above) to use to cover a camera lens — it leaves little residue.

Paul quickly went thru the remaining items at the top of this page:
– The Linux + Andoid? Ubuntu! link above talks about how Ubuntu 12 (or higher) gives you access to things on your Android device you don't normally have access to.
– He's found a 3-hour video of burning log.
– The Wikipedia article about High Dynamic Range digital photography talks about bracketing your a picture with high, low and normal exposures and then having software combine them in a way that makes the darker areas lighter and lighter areas darker, making it easier to see more of the details.
– The Online Multi Virus Scanner lets you upload a suspected file and it will submit the file to several online virus scanners at once.

Last updated: 5:22 PM 9/24/2012 (fixed bad link to "GSM" definition)

There was no show on the 11th. The bike show & Zentech traded broadcast times because of a special event the bike show needed to cover.

How to Lose Identity In No Time!

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.

Paul is back from England. He and Glenn were joined by Adam Brodel of Smarter Broadband. Adam called in to talk about terrestrial wireless.

At the top of the hour, the guys talked briefly about multi-core processors being common in today's computers. Glenn said the extra power allows much better voice recognition by the dictation program Dragon Naturally speaking.
<Dragon Naturally Speaking was discussed in a previous show>

Glenn mentioned that the new iPad is out & doing well and that the last show had some discussion about its battery life and concerns about the extra heat it puts out. <See the last show here>

Glenn also mentioned he got a Vizio tablet a few months ago. It's an Android based unit. After playing with it for a while, he discovered that he doesn't need a tablet because his netbook serves him well.
<The Visio was discussed in the 11-30-11 show>

Paul said there is a lawsuit between HTC & Apple over the look & feel of the HTC phone. Even though the operating system is different and the applications are written differently, Apple thinks the HTC phones are too similar to their own.

He also said the lines between devices are blurring — between laptops & netbooks, smartphones & tablets, etc.

Glenn said he has to hold his digital camera away from his face to frame the image and, he lamented, he'd rather use an old-fashioned viewfinder.
Paul noted that just because a camera has a viewfinder doesn't mean it's a single reflex camera (DSLR). The view isn't necessarily thru the lens — it can be looking at a LCD screen inside of the camera. He also said the SLR, with it's large aperture lens, allows one to control the depth of field unlike the cheaper point-and-shoot cameras, which are more like a pinhole camera.

Glenn mentioned a photographer who recently made a timed exposure of the Bay Bridge being struck by lightening. He gained notoriety within minutes of making the image available.

Paul said there's a line of cameras by Canon (the SureShot series, he thought) that can be hacked in such a way that the electrical impulse of a lightening strike can trigger the shutter quickly enough to capture the image of the strike. It can even capture the lightening bolt breaking up.

Adam Brodel joined the show. He said his company has recently brought wireless internet service into the Chicago Park area <in Nevada County>. The service is what he called "fixed wireless" which entails tranmitting from an elevated antenna to a receiver outside of the customer's house. The signal is then brought inside the house by an Ethernet cable.
– The speed is comparable to DSL and sometimes faster.
– The receiver at the residence is a panel antenna or dish and can be from a few inches up to 18 inches.
– This setup has low latency so you don't get delays like you can with satellite, for instance. It can even be better than DSL.
– The company has about 40 transmission points and covers the area from about 5-Mile House to Auburn and from "the AT" to Penn Valley
– Their internet data comes in by optical fiber into Auburn from 2 providers (for redundancy). The signal is then beamed to 3 towers and eventually to the rest of the network.
– The system is called Canopy. It's a proprietary system from Motorola.
– People are using up bandwidth like never before because of streaming video sites like Netflix & Hulu. The cheapest plan from the company will allow 7 to 10 movies a month. Netflix lets you turn off the HD feature so you can reduce the total amount of data you receive. Netflix, by default, will send the HD version and changing the setting means going from about 5gig per hour to about .5gig per hour and you probably won't notice the change in quality if your TV is less than 47".

The other bit of news is that Smarter Broadband has recently merged with Full Spectrum, which does DSL, dialup, hosting, email and PC repair. Now they can do all of that plus wireless.
You can contact Smarter Broadband at:
sales@smarterbroadband.com
Or call 530-272-4000

Paul said that in England he can get phone service for 10 pounds per month ($15 or $16) that includes 1gig of data, several hundred text messages and about 15min of phone calls. In England there's 98% cell phone coverage, because it's a highly urbanized nation.

For some time now, the FCC has had a requirement that cell phone companies unlock your phone after you've completed the contract but the companies have been reluctant to do that and requirement has not been enforced. In Britain it's been easy to unlock a phone, you just need to give them the IMEI number (like a serial number) of the phone. Some companies in Britain would unlock the phone even before your contact expired, as long as you're paid up.

In the past, the guys had trouble getting AT&T to unlock their phones.
<Related article: AT&T Will Unlock Out-of-Contract iPhones>

Once, Paul unlocked a phone himself but then lost the function of the GPS chip. This type of do-it-yourself unlocking has been a documented cause of similar problems and, on top of that, is not reversible. For instance, Glenn's unlocked phone periodically looses the cell signal and sometimes the wi-fi signal too. If you have the provider unlock your phone, you should not have these problems.

Rumors about the iPhone 5 say…
– It will be in a unibody case, a bit like the MacBooks.
– The screen will encompass the entire front face.
– It will have a retina display.

Glenn mentioned that Nokia came out with a new phone, but it uses the Windows mobile system. Glenn thinks using this operating system is a mistake.

The disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed on this show belong to us only, Glenn & Paul, and not necessarily those of this community radio station, KVMR, not even its board, certainly not its management. And the staff and contributors also are not responsible for anything we're talking about. And we're not really responsible for it either.

Bill called. He has an iPad 1 and said he found 2 big drawbacks — it has no USB port and it will not play Flash content. If he buys another tablet, it won't be an iPad.
– Some sites are now using HTML5 to play content, but lack of Flash is still a problem — e.g. he can't listen to audio samples at Amazon and other places.
– Glenn recommended a work-around program called Download Lite. <I guess this is it.> To use it, you download the video and then use Download Lite to play it. The iPad doesn't have to be jailbroken to use it you can get it from the app store. However, it doesn't work in all situations — not with Youtube videos.
– Even the latest iPad doesn't play Flash content and they probably never will. And Paul experienced Flash problems with MacBooks that use the Lion OS.

Bill said his daughter has the Android-based Motorola Xoom that works well.
– ASUS is now making tablets, Glenn suggest Bill check them out.

Janet called. She'll be getting an iPhone and wondered if there's an app for listening to radio programs, KVMR in particular.
– There is an app for Public Radio but maybe not community radio stations (KVMR).
– There's an app for commercial radio. <They both talked at once so I couldn't make out the name>
– "There is an application that the KVMR stream is linked to, it's simply called Public Radio". It's the Public Radio Player from PRX (Public Radio Exchange). If you have your GPS turned on, the app will even find stations near you.

She noted that the iPod Nano is supposed to have a built-in radio.
– This is a FM receiver and is subject to the limitations of a regular radio.
– Just use a regular FM radio.

KVMR has been putting out podcasts — time-shifted content of its broadcasts. Go to kvmr.org and look for where it says podcasts. You can subscribe to them using iTunes. <or just play them directly, double click where it says "Get mp3"> There are about 20 KVMR broadcasters making their shows available.

Podcasting and archiving are not the same. The podcast is delivered to you, but you have to go get the content from an archive.

Mary called to ask if one could listen to a podcast without any Apple equipment.
– Yes. Get the free iTunes software. There's a version for the PC.
– There's other software that lets you subscribe to a podcast. iTunes is not required.
– Simply click the download link when you're browsing an archive. After downloading you can do anything you like with it.

Next show is a week from now: on Apr 25

Last updated 8:30 PM 4/18/2012

Note: There was no show on 3-14-12

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 comment are delimited with < >

Glenn was in the studio, Paul called in from England

Paul mentioned that England has a version of Daylight Savings Time but they started 2 weeks after we did. So now there is again an 8-hour difference between Pacific & London times and time at Paul's location was 9pm, when he called in.

After some talk about the difference between the Euro Tunnel & Euro Star (don't call it the Chunnel), the guys talked about the new iPad and its retina display. The resolution of the display at arm's length corresponds to what the average eye is capable of discerning. If the points on the screen were any closer, the eye wouldn't be able to tell the difference. The hardware has been improved to provide the extra "horsepower" needed for the display — it now has a "4-brained chip".

And the energy capacity of the battery has been doubled, to keep up. As a consequence, people have noticed, a even alarmed at, the extra heating of the unit — to over 100 degrees F.

Laptop computers, in general, should be kept off of surfaces that don't let the heat dissipate. There's something called a lap pad that can be placed under a laptop to keep it cool. The lap pad has a fan that gets its power from a USB port.

Glenn asked if the iPad has a USB port and Paul said he doesn't think so. Paul went on to say that Apple tends leave out features people expect. The 1st iPad had no camera and people thought the second version would have USB — but no. There is an after-market device that plugs into the docking port of the iPad 2 and allows you to use SD cards.

There are people who tear down iPads to determine the "cost of goods" (COG), which is the cost of parts. They've found that the markup of the latest iPad is less than that of the iPad 1 and 2. This is expected because there is more market competition now, which should intensify considering that the Android tablets are coming out with retina displays, too.

Paul also said that LED lighting back panels (vs. fluorescent types) were introduced over a year ago and have resulted in the increase of battery life by 2 or 3 times.

Glenn thought he saw a 16gig iPad 2 with wi-fi only for $249 and said he may eventually get one. In the mean time he's happy with his 12" netbook.

Paul said he's gotten used to typing on his iPhone and has suggested a helpful trick. If you realize you've pressed the wrong key — say the 's' instead of the 'a' — without lifting your finger just slide it to the 'a' before lifting up.

Joshua called about this MacBook Pro. He upgraded to the Lion operating system and it's running slow now. He thinks it may be because it has only 2gig of RAM.
– Memory is so cheap that it's a good idea to increase it anyway.
– If this laptop is the version that has a removable battery there should be a slot in the battery compartment where you can get to the memory.
– If it's the type without a removable battery, there are instructions on the Apple site for taking it apart — it will require a hex or star screwdriver.
– Or take it to an Apple store to have it done.
– Be sure you dissipate any static electricity before proceeding.

Regarding the Lion operating system, Paul said there is no longer the ability to run software written for the PowerPC. Snow Leopard was able to run such software. He also said Apple dropped support for using dialup modems. However, Lion does allow you to use iCloud, with its free 5gigs of storage, for backups.

Something not well known is, if you login to iCloud.com, you can see your address book, calendar, etc. You can do this using any kind of computer.
<A previous show that talked about iCloud here>

Doug called to say he bought a lap pad 3 or 4 years ago but it broke after a month or two. He cut off the power cord and continued to use it under his laptop. He thinks it has prolonged the life of his computer. Glenn suggested that just keeping a laptop off an insulating surface is a bonus.

Rick called and said he had been keeping his music library on an external hard drive, when he had a PC. He then connected the drive to a Mac and is having trouble accessing the music. He doesn't like how iTunes and Window Media Player work and he's looking for a better way to manage the music.
– Years ago, Paul went thru a similar situation and he said he eventually gave up and surrendered to using iTunes.
– Some people at KVMR are using an open source software that's similar to iTunes but the guys weren't able to recall its name. <I'll update this if I get the info>
– Read the iTunes tutorial. More knowledge may alleviate some of your objections.
– There are third party tools for managing large collections of music. Paul uses the software called mp3tag. It's not just for .mp3 files. It reads the meta information inside music file — artist, album, year, genre, etc. Paul said it also uses Gracenote to identify an album from the runtimes of the songs that are on it.
– Do a Google search for the words: iTunes external drive. You should find info on using the drive with iTunes as well as the pitfalls. You should be aware of not only how your music is stored but also of the iTunes database. Read up on this before doing anything.

There is a project from years ago called MusicDNA that uses 400 attributes of music — rhythm, tempo, genre, age, vocal, instrumental, etc. — to categorize it. Pandora uses it to determine the type of music you like.
<An additional link to MusicDNA here.
Looks like there is another musicDNA and I can't really tell which one Paul was talking about.>

Paul also said he likes the Google Music service. It lets you store music and play it from anywhere.
<A previous show that talked about Google Music here>

Terry called about Maker Space. The local group. The Curious Forge, <> will hopefully have meetings the 1st Thursday of every month. They meet a 520 East Main Str. in Grass Valley till 9pm. The next meeting is Apr 5.
– To get on a mailing list email to spark@thecuriousforge.org
– Their web site is: thecuriousforge.org
Other Zentech shows have mentioned the Curious Forge and Maker Space.
<Curious Forge Facebook page here.>

Doug called again to say that there is software called Audials for $79 that's from of Germany. It lets you capture audio & video that's broadcast over the internet.
– You can get a trial version at download.com. Go there and search for audials to be sure of getting the latest version.
– For additional info and the commercial product see their website audials.com/en

Paul was reminded of the software that he used before he defected to iTunes. He said he liked Winamp. It provides "links from your music out to the companies or the performance videos and reviews and biographies and all the rest…" <It's one of my main apps…indispensable>

Jack called. He's thought about getting a MacBook but they're too pricey. So now he wants suggestions for a netbook.
– Both of the guys have a 12" ASUS. The 10" version is the most common but Glenn likes the 12" for its bigger keyboard & higher resolution screen and better resolution that comes out from the video port.
– They can be had for $300 to $400. Check their website or Best Buy.
– You can sometimes find the ASUS in odd colors for additional savings.
– <Also see Glenn's review of the ASUS here.>

Jack noted that the iPad 2 is also about that price, so would that be a better choice?
– They're 2 different types of devices.
– The iPad has almost no connectivity — no external keyboard or mouse; just a SD card slot.

Glenn acknowledged subscribing KVMR members. To become a member, go to the KVMR website.

Courtney called. He has a Dell Studio 1735 laptop and is getting a crackling noise on his speakers.
– Many laptops end up with malfunctioning sound chip.
– Go to Ebay and search for the words: USB sound. You should find a device that has a mic input and a headphone output. It will bypass the computer's sound system and doesn't require additional drivers if you use XP or newer operating system.

Carmo (or maybe Varmo) called and wanted to know how to download pictures from and SD card to his NextBook (a tablet device which has a SD card slot).
– Tablet usually have limited memory and you don't typically transfer data from the SD card. Just use software to view the pictures directly from the SD card.
– Also, there are probably apps that can catalog your pictures.

Last updated: 11:49 PM 3/28/2012 

strong

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.

Glenn & Paul were both in the studio

On KVMR's front page you can find a link referred to as Earth Wind Fire. It's from a website provided by PG&E showing current weather conditions, CalTrans conditions, various outages, traffic accidents and estimated times to restore services.

Paul said that during emergencies, text (txt) messages are a good way to communicate because cell phone network capacity, which is often over-subscribed, is quickly exceeded.
– Such messages can be quickly composed.
– They queue up in your phone until they can finally be sent.
– You don't need a data plan to use the text service.
– This is a SMS, not a MMS service, with a 161-character message limit.
– You can send a text message to Google, using the number associated with it, telling it where you are, for example text a zipcode: location 95959. All further queries refer to that zipcode. You then text it for example: restaurant, and it will provide a list of restaurants in that area. Or you can text: weather, to get local weather.

The guys talked about the Do Not Call registry, which is a government service to keep telemarketers from calling you.
– Companies that you've dealt with before will still be able to make unsolicited calls. Glenn implied that you could opt-out of these calls too, just check with the particular company.
– If you had signed up when the service first became available, your phone number remained in the registry for 5 years only, and you may need to register again. The 5-year limit has since been eliminated, it's now forever.
– Scammers have been making calls claiming to represent the Do Not Call registry. Do not respond to such calls.
– At donotcall.gov you can register up to 3 phones. They will send confirmation emails, one for each phone. You need to respond to each email.
– Political campaigns, surveyors, certain non-profits will still be able to call you.
– You can include your fax phone number; and even your Google voice number in the registry.
– Though cell phones are not supposed to be subjected to telemarketing calls, it does happen. You may want to add that number to the registry, too.

The NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) now has a new URL — weather.gov.

Another interesting weather site is wunderground.com. Linked to this site are community or individually-run weather stations using Oregon Scientific weather monitoring equipment. <You can get weather data from just down the street. Very local, very cool.>
< Here are some other weather sites I've found useful….
Radar for Sacramento and surrounding counties:
Local citizen-run stations
More citizen-run stations.
…a Sacramento station, CW0443, and stations surrounding it.>

Sharon called. She has a mi-fi device and she suffered loss of her DSL service. Shortly after the service was restored she reached her data cap of 3gig even though she hadn't used any of it. Her cell provider, Verizon, refused to acknowledge a problem and she was stuck with a $30 bill.
– The correct way to contest the charge is to pay the correct portion of the bill and contest the incorrect amount. Then notify your credit card company and send them the relevant information.
– Check with other Verizon users to see if they experienced a similar situation.
– Gather a history of your usage and present it to Verizon to show that this incident is not the norm.

Sharon also mentioned she sometimes exceeds her data cap and has to pay $10 for an additional gig. She thinks that it's the advertising in the webpages that adds to her data usage.
– Try the proxy server called Privoxy.org that blocks banner ads. Paul wasn't sure that if it actually blocks the ads before they get to your phone or just stops them from displaying on the screen.
– Glenn said he recalls a browser that blocks ads but couldn't remember its name. Paul said there is a text-only browser called Lynx that doesn't show any graphics.

Doug called to say the Golden Empire Flying Association has a weather reporting station at the airport (near Nevada City) — go to intellicast.com and look for the identifier KGOO.
<The way I found the KGOO weather report was to use the box labeled "Get the Weather in your city:" I entered: Nevada City California. I suggest you try entering your own city.>

Glenn thanked KVMR membership subscribers.
Support KVMR online or call 530/265-9555 or 800/355-5867

Tom called asking for an affordable internet provided in the Nevada City area.
– Glenn said, if he can see Oregon Hill then Digital Path is a good choice. Their phone # is 1-800-676-PATH. They are a wireless provider and availability is subject to line of sight to their antennas.
– You can also get the internet thru your cell phone provider. That can run from $50 to $70 per month. But be aware of data caps.
– A third option is Hughesnet, which is a satellite provider.

Glenn mentioned that AT&T has expanded its DSL service area near Alta Sierra (near Nevada City). Check with AT&T if you're interested.

On the redesigned KVMR webpage you can find blogs corresponding to some of the shows being broadcast.

Someone called wondering whether it's difficult to learn the 2011 version of Microsoft Word. She has a Mac and has had trouble finding a class for Word. Is it that different from the PC version, she asked?
– There may be minor only differences. A class in the PC version should suffice.
– Note that the equivalent of Word 2011 on the Mac is Word 2010 on the PC. Similarly, you can equate the 2007 PC version with the 2008 Mac version.
– The 2007 (PC version) did away with the menus but the next version is more like the older 2003 version.
– There may be some tutorials on Youtube. Search for: Office 2011 training. You should find a commercial site called Lynda.com that provides video training for all sorts of stuff.

She also asked if anyone in the local area is willing to provide training.
– She was told to write to the guys at zen at kvmr dot org

Ken called saying he had trouble finding Privoxy mentioned above <earlier, Paul didn't mention the domain .org — it's privoxy.org>

Ken also said was considering going to cell phone internet access and he used SurplusMeter to tell him how much data he uses, to see if he'll exceed the data cap.
<SurplusMeter is for the Mac. To get the latest version I suggest do a Google search for: surplusmeter. hen use the link for download.com
Currently you'll find it here>
– This app measures only the data that comes thru the particular Mac that it's on, not the rest of your networked devices. There's a way around it — replace your router's firmware — go dd-wrt.com. This firmware can, by itself, report the data usage.

Ken then suggested Adblock Plus to eliminate ads from webpages <and reduce data usage. But may only "hide" some ads — see here>.

Last updated: 9:44 PM 2/29/12