Additional notes
And at the bottom are more links Coryon sent

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 started off by reminding people to stay current with their backups because there are a lot of viruses and phishing exploits out there. You may be asked to click on a link to fix a problem you don't really have and you end up with a real problem. E.g. you may get a popup window asking you to update the Adobe Flash player, instead of clicking in the window, seek out the Adobe site and do your update from there.

Repeating what he said on the last show, Paul said, when you bookmark a site use only the base address of the site — i.e. the home or main page. Don't bookmark a page you've come to after you've already clicked thru several pages. For instance, if you're on Paypal at the account page and you decide to bookmark it, the cookie Paypal leaves on your computer may cause problems later, according to Paul. So it's best just to create the bookmark from scratch, using the bookmark manager, by typing in the base URL — paypal.com

Microsoft Security Essentials is the 2nd most widely used security software for Windows. You have to have a legit copy of Windows to use it. AVG <a free version is here> is another popular security program. Both are free and there is a paid version of AVG which does more than the free version but whose features are not always needed. And remember, no anti-malware program is foolproof.

Paul has found a reason to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7. XP does not have a well-working version of what's called shadow copy. If 2 programs try to access the same file at the same time, even if it's read-only, the file is forbidden from being copied when it's in use by another program

XP doesn't have an operational version of shadow copy, Win7 and newer does. Win7 allows backup software to properly copy a file even while it's changing. Cobian Backup, which is free, can take advantage of shadow copy but it doesn't warn you that it doesn't work right with XP.

Glenn said you can get reconditioned units with Windows XP from geeks.com, buy.com and overstock.com or Dell units that are coming off lease.

Paul talked about the Speedstep power saving technology from Intel (there's a competing product from AMD <Advanced Micro Devices>). It's especially valuable in a laptop but is useful in a desktop. What it does is slow the speed of the CPU to cut power consumption <I guess, more strictly, power demand or energy consumption> and reduces the heat produced.
– It can reduce the power consumed by about 4/5 when you're not doing anything that requires much from the CPU.
– The user doesn't have direct control over it.
– In Windows it's controlled indirectly by the power management functions. You get there thru system properties — look for the tab dealing with power management. <I think you can get to what he was talking about by going to Startup -> Control Panel -> Performance & Maintenance -> Power Options>
– The point Paul was getting to was that you can control the settings by typing powercfg.exe at the command line <'Command Prompt' selection on the start menu> with the appropriate parameters. See the above link for more info. <That link is actually wrong. Hopefully, Paul will fix it soon. Or you can try this one instead.> http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc748940(v=ws.10).aspx
– For the Mac users there's the link above to CoolBook. Laptops may be throttled back to keep them from overheating and the CoolBook app lets you see what's happening.

Glenn mentioned the membership drive, thanked those who have contributed, and reminded folks that there are thank you gifts available when you become a member. Go to kvmr.org and click on membership.

Coryon Redd was introduced. He talked about some changes at Google in the facilities businesses use to promote themselves. Some of the highlights include:
– Google is the largest search engine and has about 70% of the market.
– Search results have become more personalized. It track how you've search before to tailor subsequent results.
– Google has reduced the amount of info you get about how people used the search to get to your site. This is when you use Google Analytics as a free service. Now, Google wants you to pay to get the full results.
– Google's GoToMeeting service used to be free, it's now a pay service. Coryon said join.me is now his preferred way to share his screen. <join.me was mentioned in the 1-25-12 show>
– There is now 1 privacy policy to cover all of Googles services — gmail, picasa, the Android operating system, their affiliated partners, etc.
– Google keeps your user data anonymous. Their advertisers get only general data but not your identity.
– You can opt out but you won't be able to use Google's services.
– Paul asked about having all of your data deleted if you do opt out. Coryon didn't know if that was an option.
– Paul suggested a way to help protect your private information — to dilute it by giving false information when you fill out a user profile, i.e. a false name, date of birth, current location, etc.
– Related to that, Paul talked about Facebook and said there is a link there to find out what Facebook knows about you. It was put in because European countries required it. Click the link and you can download all the info they have about you. <I've heard that was true at first. Now you only get a subset of the info>

Paul mentioned Sierra Commons where he recently gave a talk about mobile computing. Apparently presentations are given there (in the Nevada City area) regularly on Tuesdays from 12pm to 1pm on topics related to small business. Coryon mentioned a meeting called Nevada County Online comprised of small businesses that meets the 4th Tuesday of the month at 11am in Grass Valley to hear speakers discuss internet marketing. It's free but RSVP. Go to meetup.com search for Nevada County Online <I didn't get any results but try a Google search with these words: site:meetup.com "Nevada County Online" — and get results like this>

A caller said he that when he wants to put on an event, he would post the info on Facebook. Then he'd notify his Facebook friends about the posting by sending out a notice to everyone in a group all at once. Now he has to click on each friend one at a time and he finds that inconvenient.
– Facebook downgraded that feature, you're forced to do that.
– The solution offered: "Post something on that group wall and then share that with a message to whoever your friends are". <Sorry I couldn't make sense of it, not a Facebook user>

Steve called. He's on the fringe of the KVMR signal and has trouble receiving it.
– Go to Radio Shack and get a external antenna. Use a coaxial or balanced feeder cable and have it go to an antenna outside the house.
– Make sure the antenna is for FM radio, not TV
– Put the antenna on the side of the house that faces Banner Mountain.
– KVMR is also on the internet. Click "listen live" on the front page.

Talk about making light sabers <as in Star Wars> led to mention of Sierra Makers aka Curious Forge — a local maker group.

Coryon talked about websites that have little content but a lot of ads <ad farms>. These sites are penalized in the search results at Google, in an effort to keep results relevant for those using Google search.

Google ranks search results using an algorithm that takes into account many factors — the way the copy is written on the page, the way the links are done, how long the page has been around, the last time it was updated and, most importantly, the quantity & quality of the incoming links.

Paul mention a site that test how well a website caters to disabled (blind) users — sco-browser.com. When Google scans a webpage, it's similar to a blind user in that it can't make sense of graphics and such, Testing your site for accessibility may give some indication of the way Google sees it.

Besides an automated algorithm, Google also employs people who help rank sites manually.

Coryon is teaching an introduction to online marketing class in Auburn at the SEDCorp offices. He'll also be teaching other classes, so for more info go to coryon.com/classes.

As Paul talked about before, Google's language translation engine very powerful because it's been fed enormous amounts of human translated documents from the United Nations & the European community.

To contact Coryon:
coryon.com
coryon@gmail.com

Next show is on the Feb 29.

Less keyword info in Analytics
http://www.stateofsearch.com/google-holds-back-organic-keyword-data-in-analytics-lobotomising-the-marketer/

Panda update – Google better at finding pages with paid / spammy links
http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2067687/Google-Panda-Update-Say-Goodbye-to-Low-Quality-Link-Building

Content marketing on the rise – Pages with lots of sponsored ads will rank lower
http://mashable.com/2012/02/08/new-content-marketing-tactics/

Growing importance of Google+ and other social marketing
http://mashable.com/2012/02/10/seo-google-plus/
http://www.blindfiveyearold.com/google-plus-seo

Announcement of upcoming Internet Marketing classes – point people to Coryon.com/classes to learn more.

Announcement of Dave Polivy as speaker for NCO. What is NCO?

Last updated: 11:59pm 2/15/12

iTunes University

Crowdsourced Documentaries– a New Genre?
Full Length 90 min one here and more info HERE

Privacy Linking inside Google — March 01

On Screen Ruler & Implcations

Converting Super-8 cine movies to digital?

More On PC remote Control: JOIN.ME

Somethign on Radio Control: the Chinese FS-CT6B under $50.00

Please check back around the time of the broadcast.

Additional notes

Notifications of new show notes and edits are tweeted at: twitter.com/ddhart.
– They're tagged with #Zentech.
– When what's said is unclear to me (or I'm unfamiliar with a topic) I tend to quote (" ") verbatim.

Editor's comments are delimited by < >

Paul was in the studio & Glenn called in

Paul mentioned that podcasts of various KVMR talk shows are accessible from the front page of KVMR <or directly here.>

Paul thought the movie "Life In A Day" was outstanding. It's composed of many video clips sent in to Youtube by people from 190 countries, which show something from their daily lives on one particular day. See the 2 links above where it says Crowdsourced Documentaries.

Apple has introduced iTunes University. It's "everything you need to create & share complete courses all in one place". They're typically free though some may not be. Many are university courses. See the above link. <There's also Open Courseware from MIT, no iTunes required, just stream or download the .mp4 >

For measuring things on your screen there's an on-screen ruler available at iruler.net. It uses facilities like javascript to figure out the your screen resolution & dimensions. It then projects an accurate ruler on your monitor. Paul was not successful in trying to fool the application. <But see Jeff's comments below>

To convert Super-8 movies to digital takes more than just projecting the movie onto a screen and pointing your digital video camera at it. Because the projector & video camera run at a different frames per second rate, you'll get an annoying bar that moves up & down in the resulting digital video.
– The name for the device that converts cinema movies to digital is telecine and you can buy equipment to do this for $1600 to $2500.
– You can have a professional service to do the conversion at a typical rate of $19 for 5 minutes.
– You can do a search for the word telecine and find FAQs for useful tips.
– See Ken's comments below.

Glenn called in to say he's house sitting at a place that's having the Digital Path ISP service installed. They talked about testing the speed of the connection and the site speedtest.phonepower.com was suggested. Paul likes this site because latency and the rate at which the latency changes (jitter) is tested. <There's more about this in the 1-12-11 and 5-31-10 shows.>

Glenn reminded people to do frequent backups because there are a lot of viruses and phishing exploits out there. You may be asked to click on a link to fix a problem you don't really have and you end up with a real problem. Paul said to stop and think before clicking.

Scammers can be very tricky, For instance, if you bought airline tickets you may get what looks like a follow-up message that says something like…to print your tickets click here. Paul said it may not be enough to clear your web cookies to avoid being tracked on the net. Java Virtual Machine, the Flash player and Microsoft's Media Player have their own version of cookies

<There's a little more about this in the 5-11-11 show. You can learn about Flash (or zombie) cookies here.>

Combofix from Bleeping Computer and MalwareBytes were mentioned for getting rid of viruses that extort payment in return for 'fixing' your (unbroken) computer. <See notes for the 8-9-10 show for more about this and smitfraud> The anti-virus program Microsoft Security Essentials was also mentioned.
<See the 5-11-11 show notes for articles about Microsoft Security Essentials.>

More tips to protect yourself against scammers included:
– If you get a message from what seems like your bank that requires your response, call the bank directly but don't use the phone number in the bogus message, find a reliable number in the bank's printed material or phone book.
– When you bookmark a site use only the base address of the site — i.e. the home or main page. Don't bookmark a page you've come to after you've already clicked thru several pages.

Paul talked about remote control software called JOIN.ME. See the above link. The program is easy to initiate and allows a user in one location to control a computer at a remote location. There are versions for both the PC & Mac and even lets a PC control a Mac (& the reverse). Supposedly it allows conference calls, too.

Jeff called & said he tried iruler but had problems getting it to work right. the iruler program determined this monitor is 17" but had to be set to 20.5" to get it to work.
– Paul thought Jeff's LCD monitor was not set at the "optimum drive rate".

When it's not optimum "the pixels transmitted by the video chip are not the same as the number transistors in the screen" and you get a dithering effect. Jeff further complicated matters by sharing 1 monitor between 2 computers.

Paul quickly mentioned some of the things cookies reveal about your computer: the operating system being used, the browser type, size of your display & whether you've been to the site before.

Glenn got a note from Marilyn who is increasingly using hotspots for her internet connection and is worried about viruses, hackers & snoopers.
– Glenn thought it fairly safe to use hotspots though he wouldn't do his banking from there.
– In an environment where you share a network with others, like a hotspot, a firewall lets you connect out but prevents others from "connecting back" without permission.
– If you want to know if your machine is secure from others getting in on such an alien network, you need to do a port scan.
– Do a Google search for "port scanner" and you should find a company called Gibson Research. < think this is it:>
– When you give it permission, it will scan some 65,000 ports while trying to find an open share — that's where you share folders & their contents.
– Glenn's suggestion is to go to Network connections in the Control Panel and right-click on wireless connections, click properties and uncheck the box that says "File & Print sharing for Microsoft networks".
– Win7 & Vista will disable sharing on a public hotspot connection but XP has to be deliberately told not to share.
– Unless you really need to share, there's no reason to have it enabled.
– There is a way to keep your machine from the list of computers on a wireless network. Having your machine on the list "is a open invitation for problems"…"the less information given away the better". Paul didn't go into any details for delisting.

Ken called with more suggestions for super-8 to digital transfer.
– He was able to adjust the frame rate of the projector by trial and error to minimize the problem with the synchronization.
– Use a plain white screen instead of a projector screen, which can introduce some graininess.
– He thought his success was due in part to slowing the frame rate of the camera so it would capture more than one frame of the projected image.
– Paul also suggested turning off the autofocus on the camera.
– Reducing the light from the projector will make the camera increase the exposure time and may improve the results.
– Using a webcam with 640 x 480 resolution is more in line with the resolution of the Super-8. Using a hi-def camera will only produce huge files with little gain in clarity.
– For making the final DVD movies Paul likes Nero 7. And Windows Movie Maker is "not too bad", either. It's included in XP Pro <I see it listed in my XP Home edition too, but I've never used it>.

On Sunday The Curious Forge, a local Nevada County Maker group, will have an open house. These are the sort of people who would experiment with transferring movies to digital. If you're interested, look for The Curious Forge on Facebook for more info. Paul read from the Facebook page that it will be on the 29th at 520 East Main Street in Grass Valley from 3 to 6pm.
<I think this is their Facebook page>

Support KVMR and become a member. 530/265-9555 or 800/355-5867

Finally, Paul said that you can by from China a 6 channel radio controller (link above) for under $50, This is for remote controlled model planes, car, boats, etc.

He went on to say he's see video's of model helicopters doing amazing stunts which were impossible until the use of sensors similar to what you can find in smartphone — thing like magnetometers, accelerometers and inclinometers.
– On Youtube look up "aerobatic radio controlled helicopter".

Last updated: 11:50pm 1/25/12 

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 comments are delimited by < >

Paul was in the studio & Glenn called in from Sacramento.

Paul spent quite a long time talking about viruses and how they can get on your computer. Some of the highlights…
– No anti-virus program can protect completely.
– All recent versions of Windows are vulnerable, including XP, Vista and Win7, though Win7 is slightly less vulnerable.
– Pop-up windows telling you to update some of your software can be legitimate or a ploy to infect your machine.
– The pop-up windows can lead you to a bogus site that both infects your machine and offers to fix the problem, extorting your money in the process. Or they just steal your credit card number.
– Effectiveness of anti-virus software depends on updating its database of signatures (patterns of bits used to identify a virus). But new viruses seem to be outpacing the updating procedure.
– A virus can get on your machine even if you don't click inside a pop-up window that's suggesting you update. Browser plugins, which allow you to read .pdf files, view a Flash video, run a Java applet, etc,, can let in a virus, if you don't regularly update the plugins.
– Bogus websites can be made to look convincingly authentic. A recent survey showed that about 50% of users would trust a website that displays a Better Business Bureau logo.
– Legitimate and otherwise trusted websites can be compromised with malicious code.
– You can sometimes spot suspicious websites if you look at the URL before you click on it. For instance, it may look like — mcafeeantivirus.cz.tk. You may be fooled into thinking all is well because of the seemingly trustworthy part — mcafeeantivirus — and you may ignore the rest of the address — which looks suspicious.
– Unlike most of Eruope where it's mandated, very few credit cards in the US have embedded chips. The latter provide significantly improved protection.

The disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed on this show are those of the speakers only and don't necessarily represent those of KVMR, its board, management, staff or contributors.

Patrick called in. Though he doesn't yet have an iPod, he had some questions before buying one.

The 1st question was whether he can take music off of CDs.
– Yes. You do it in conjunction with your computer & you have to install software on it.
– Paul said the Mac comes with the software (iTunes) and suggested PC users get iTunes <the ripping itself can be done with Media Player, which comes with XP & maybe other Windows versions>.
– You don't have to have an Apple device to use iTunes. iTunes is not just for purchasing music.
– Get it at itunes.com or apple.com/itunes

Patrick's 2nd question is will he be able to download Youtube videos to the iPod and play them on his TV.
– Yes but it's not straightforward. A Firefox addon called Download Helper <looks like there's more than one. Try this or this> was suggested. There are other ways, which Paul didn't go into.
– Glenn chimed in to say that if he wants to have Youtube available, he has to get an iPod Touch, not one of the other iPod models.
– Glenn went on to say he won't be able to save Youtube video on the iPod Touch but with the appropriate cable he'll be able to access the video with the Touch and have it play on the TV.
– The adapter <I think Paul meant the cable> is available from Apple for $49 or you can get a Chinese knock-off (that doesn't always work) on Ebay. It has 3 RCA plugs — audio right & left and video.
– If you do get an Apple product (iPod), the guys suggested the Apple Care extended warranty.

Glenn noted that both he and Paul have an iPhone 3GS and recently were able to upgrade to iOS5. And it's possible now to have that version of iOS and have their phones jailbroken and unlocked. However, this has caused Glenn some problems. The phone now periodicly drops the connection — both cell network & wi-fi. He thought there might be some settings that will fix the problem; but right now, the only thing that works is to turn off the location services, which includes the GPS. Paul said the GPS & the network connection interfere with each other. Hopefully, there'll be a solution shortly.

Paul has heard that 1 out of 5 iPhones are not signed up with AT&T, and it was inferred that 1 out of 5 were unlocked and using other networks.

Paul noted that iOS5 on the iPhone still drains the battery faster than it's supposed to.
– Since the iPhone multitasks, running a task like Skype in the background will increase the battery drain.
– Also, Paul sometimes runs the Tom Tom GPS program in the background. That to causes excessive drain. <Some info on the Tom Tom software for the iPhone on a recent show here.>
– The other thing that causes extra battery drain is being in a low signal area. The phone boosts its signal to compensate and that also takes more energy.

Josh called asking the guys what they preferred for streaming video boxes that, for example, play Netflix content on your TV.
– Paul doesn't like the Roku anymore. Their latest model keeps nagging you to create a credit account, just in case you might want to buy something.
– Some gaming units like the Wii will stream Netflix.
– Some BlueRay players have internet capability and can do Netflix. Glenn said he saw a Sony unit that does Netflix, Voodoo, Blockbuster, Hulu Plus and Flixter. Glenn quoted some prices he's seen recently: at Target there's $59 RCA unit, at Costco there's a $69 Toshiba & a $79 Sony. They generally use an Ethernet cable; wi-fi capable players are about $50 to $75 more.

Paul explained why the content had been missing from the Zentech site for a couple of months. They upgraded the script interpreter called PHP from version 5.1 to 5.3. That caused problems with Joomla the content management software. Paul eventually discovered the 4 lines of code that needed to be changed to get things working again. <If you had been paying attention to my tweets, you'd know the notes for the last few shows had been available on an alternate site.>

Glenn said he got an email from Marilyn and she's having some problems with her Dell computer. There's a problem with Outlook and she's also getting a warning about the boot partition not being found.
– It sounds like the hard drive is going bad. Resolve this hardware issue first before tackling the Outlook problem.
– Try unplugging things like flash drives, CDs etc. Modern computers have the capability to boot from different devices and her machine may be trying to boot from something other than the internal hard drive. – Try this first because it's an easy thing to check. <If this is the problem, then, to me, it seem she needs to check her BIOS settings (at bootup)>

Scott called. He's downloaded some audio books from the North State Public Library system but it seems that a PC is required to get them to either play or transfer to his iPod. He wants to be able to do it with his Mac.
– Paul thinks the audio is somehow protected to discourage copying.
– Contact the library and ask them if it's possible.
– Other than that, Paul doesn't have enough info to help.
<I'm not sure if this is the library but try one of these 2 links:
www.northnetlibs.org
www.nscls.org
>

Paul quickly mentioned that the Podhawk podcasting system at KVMR just got upgraded and there are various radio shows available there.

Last updated: 10:51 PM 1/11/2012 

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 < >

The guys talked about their favorite tech of 2011. Glenn's favorite gadget is his iPhone 3GS. He's looked at some tablets but his ASUS12" netbook, which both guys have, meets his needs and he's found no need for a tablet.

Paul noted that Cisco routers have an operating system called IOS: Internet Operating System. That's the same name used by the iPhones & iPads from Apple.

iOS 5.0.1 is Apple's latest iteration and it can't be used in an iPhone older than a 3GS. But Glenn said he recently plugged someone's 3G into his iMac and it prompted him to upgrade to iOS5, so he's going to look at that again. Paul said it's not always easy to tell what kind of iPhone you have. In an iPhone or iPad go to Settings -> General -> About and look at 'Model'. Use the number you find there to do a Google search and find the exact version of your device. What you see on the back of the phone cannot be totally relied upon.

Paul said there 2 types of firmware in iPhones, iPads, and just about any cell phone. One is for the modem, which is the cellular network system. Paul's phone has modem firmware version 5.16.
– There are jailbreaking methods that require a higher version number.
– Version 6 has been hacked.
– "It's the modem firmware that one has hack to permit the phone to talk to chips other than the one it was sold to go with", Paul said. The modem hack is what permits you to get off of the AT&T contract. <I think he meant you'd then be able to use a SIM card from another service provider: in other words, switch your carrier>

Paul went on to warn users that if they update the modem firmware to version 6 and then unlock the phone, they'll not be able to revert to the older version.

Glenn said it's been 4 or 5 months since iOS 5 came out and it's taken this long to jailbreak it. Paul said it keeps getting harder to jailbreak as new versions of iOS come out.

Glenn again mentioned that he uses a Tom Tom GPS unit and noted that Paul didn't especially like his unit because it wasn't easily hackable and it did not display the elevation along with the coordinates. Paul also noted that the USB connection of the Tom Tom Via is proprietary and therefore required a separate cable. And he said older Tom Tom unites allowed you to view the files it contained as if you plugged in a USB flash drive, so you could, for instance, easily replace the voice files. You can hack the newer units but it takes more work.

Tom Tom releases their navigation software for various platforms. For $39 ($49 if you want to add Canada or Mexico) you can get a version for iPhone & iPad thru the iTunes store.
– It can access your contact list if you tell it to navigate to one of your contacts.
– It's perfect for those with unlocked or jailbroken iPhones, as in Paul's case, because he doesn't have a contract with AT&T and only uses it on a wireless network. Since the Tom Tom software comes with all of the maps, all of the data resides on his phone so he doesn't need a network connection to use it.
– Just because your iPhone is jailbroken doesn't mean you can't use the iTunes app store.
– You can't get this Tom Tom software directly over the air, you have to use iTunes and synchronize it that way because it's a big download and iTunes has the ability to resume the download in case it's interrupted.
– As an aside, if you have iOS5, you can do your iTunes synching wirelessly now. You have to have iTunes 10.5.2 and iOS5 and the two have to be shared on the same local area network. One thing you cannot do wirelessly, however, is upgrade the operating system.

iOS5 is required if you want to use the new service called iCloud. It's an internet-based service that stores your data and synchronizes between all of your Apple devices. Paul seems to like it.

Paul mentioned Timeline on Facebook. It's a feature that presents the postings & dialog in a more accessible way. If you've been on Facebook for years, you can click on a particular year and see the content specific to that year. The content has always been available but now it's easier to get to.

Glenn said Facebook now has a feature similar to LinkedIn where you can view people's profiles. He couldn't remember the name of the feature and wasn't sure if it's a paid service. He said it was especially useful for the business professional.

Margie called and wondered of iCloud is meant to replace MobileMe.
<FAQ about the transition here.>
– Yes.
– The guys weren't sure if iCloud is a charged service. Looking it up on the net, Paul found info suggesting it is free. 5gig of storage is free & the music, book, apps & photo stream don't count against the total. Additional storage is $20 per 10gig.
– Make sure you have iOS5. Then look under settings for iCloud. You should be able to use your MobilMe login.

Margie also asked if Contacts & Address Book are not the same and will not update each other.
– They have some things in common which do update.
– Each will synch with its counterpart on the computer.
– Paul doesn't think there's enough difference to warrant a different name.

iCloud will only synchronize music you bought at the Apple Store. If you want to synch your other music, you'll need a service called iMatch for $20 per year. It will allow you to take music in your iTunes library and store it on iCloud.

Google now has a service called Google Music.
– You'll need a Google account.
– You download a small app.
– You get an enormous amount of storage. Paul was able to store 150gig on Google Music.
– It synchs all of your content from iTunes or from a generic folder — i.e. you don't have to use iTunes.
– It's for the PC or Mac.
– Paul loves it.
– Find it at google.com/music.

Hopefully the Zentech website will be working soon. <Remember, I tweet new show notes & updates at twitter.com/ddhart and if you've been paying attention, you know the temporary alternate location of the notes>

Glenn got an iMac earlier this year and he's now using it at home.
– Compared to Windows XP, he's noticed some clickable elements are in a different location.
– On the XP he was able to set his mouse to automatically position itself to the 'OK' button whenever a dialog box comes up. He hasn't been able to find a similar feature on the Mac.

One thing that Paul & his sister (a long time PC user) have yet to get used to is the magic trackpad device for the Mac. From his description, it's a trackpad that responds to gestures and multiple finger movements. It can be bought as a separate add-on for older Macs, but you have to have the latest (Lion) operating system `he implied>. Check Youtube for tutorial videos on its use — search for "lion mouse".

Ross called. He has Macbook Pro and suggested that his girlfriend get a Mac Airbook but she wants something smaller. Knowing the guys use ASUS notebooks, he asked if the Mac OS will run on them.
– It can be done but it involves a lot of hacking. Use Google to look up "hackintosh"
– ASUS isn't the only one that makes netbooks. Look up netbook with Google and you'll find a Wikipedia article.
– These units run much longer on a charge than they used to because the screens now use LED backlighting — 4 or 5 hours easily.
– The guys now both have the 11.6 (called 12") screen ASUS. It has a bigger keyboard then the previous smaller units they've tried and they give better resolution when an external monitor is attached.
– This 12" ASUS is a bit slow because it uses the Atom CPU. And they found the performance improved when they increased the 1gig RAM to 2gigs.
– The Atom is good enough to play Youtube videos but is not great for video games or animation work.

Paul said there are Chinese "clones" of the MacBook Air but in fact actually run PC software. Google "knockoff Air" to find out more.

Paul again mentioned that the Mac version 10.51 OS is the last that can run a telephone connected modem, 10.7 can't.

Paul found the correct name of the trackpad he talked about earlier — Magic Trackpad. He said you might be able to use it on the PC too. Find more info here.

Mark called. He just moved to Nevada County and needs to find a broadband service.
– Try Smarter Broadband.
– Try Spiral Internet, the local provider of Digital Path.
– As a last resort you can use a satellite connection.

Last Updated: 10:58 PM 12/28/2011

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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 < >

Some music from the movie Tron was played at the opening and Glenn said he was able to see the movie on DVD. That led Paul to say that the idea of putting additional material on DVDs was pioneered by Spielberg with the movie Close Encounters. He also mentioned that Toy Story (1 & 2) have been released in 3D.

Glenn said he saw Puss 'n Boots in 3D and was not impressed with the 3D effects. However, he's heard that the movie Hugo is supposed to have been done well in 3D and he expects to see it soon.

Glenn said Marilyn is still having trouble with her mouse cursor — the icon looks like a circle with a line thru it.
– He thinks she may be pressing some key combination that selects that icon.
– He would like to use TeamViewer to access her machine and see directly what's going on.
– Paul said there's a way to choose what your mouse pointer looks like if you go into Control Panel -> Mouse -> Pointers tab <that's with the Classic View. With the Category View: Control Panel -> Printers & Other Hardware -> Mouse -> Pointers tab>. And some of the changes available there can benefit users with poor eyesight. Similar changes on the Mac can be accessed by going to Preferences -> Universal Access.

Summer called to say she loved the movie Hugo and its scenery. She thought the 3D was done well.
She also wanted to know if there are any free cursors for the MacBook Pro.
– Paul doesn't know of any but Glenn said Apple now has an app store just for the Mac computer and suggested she try it out.

Wynn called. He has 5-6yr old HP Pavilion laptop that's making a noise; he thinks it's the hard drive. He wants to change it himself and asked how sensitive the drives are to static electricity.
– The chips on the drive have better static protection than they used to, but take the precaution to electrically ground yourself.
– There may be something else other than the hard drive making the noise, Glenn thought it might be the fan.
– Before changing the drive, Paul suggested he get the software called Speedfan and it will report what's happening with the drive.
– Make sure you get the right type of hard drive IDE (PATA) or SATA.
– For routine maintenance Paul said to vacuum or blast compressed air thru the air vents to eliminate excess dust.
– Keep in mind that you can find used/recycled parts on Ebay, especially parts no longer being made.

Paul is often asked how he's learned what he knows about computers. He said it's by taking things apart. He recently took apart a laptop screens to see how they work.
– Most pre-2008 laptop screens are lit from the bottom with a thin fluorescent tube. Prisms & refractive gratings distribute the light to make the screen appear uniformly lit.
– The alternative, an eletroluminescent panel, draws more power and gives a pale greenish color.
– Glenn said the successor to that is the LED. He was recently looking a some TVs and noted the distinction between the LCD — a display technology that uses the fluorescent tube — and the LED LCD where LEDs are the light source
– Paul said that even those screens are divided into 2 types. Those using LEDs that give off a spectrum of light that's close to daylight, and those using triplets of LEDs — each with red, blue and green. The latter type has more electronics to run the LEDs and draws more power but has better control over the color.

Arlie called to say she has a virus hijacking her search queries. She's tried MalwareBytes but it didn't find anything. What's the recommendation?
– First, backup your computer.
– Try using Cobian <I guess it's a backup program. I think this is it.>
– Paul asked if this happens with more than 1 browser — no, only with Firefox. So he thought it may be a Firefox plugin that's causing the problem. Check what plugins you have to see if there is one that's unfamiliar, then remove it.
– Those writing such plugins get affiliate or referral fees when you click on the search results.
– She's using AVG as her anti-virus. Though that catches some malware, the guys suggest using Microsoft Security Essentials. But before you change to a different anti-virus, check for rogue plugins as suggested above.
– Don't jump to quickly to the conclusion that a virus is causing a problem. Stop and think about it — you yourself may have done something to cause the change in performance <thru some settings or software you've downloaded>.

A lot of viruses these days try to prevent their own removal. They're called rootkits and they hide themselves in the kernelof the operating system. <A previous show with some info about rootkits was on 2-9-9>
– If you suspect you have a rootkit, you can use Tdsskiller by Kaspersky Labs
– Paul doesn't recommend casual use of tools like this because it brings "heavy cannons onto the scene".
<Background about it & alternate ways to download it is here>

The disclaimer:
The opinions and whatnot heard here on KVMR are those of the speaker, not necessarily those of KVMR, its staff, board, underwriters or volunteers.

Michael called. He's using XP and at one point he chose a picture to use as his desktop <wallpaper>. Now he wants to change the desktop but he doesn't want to loose the picture and he can't find where the picture is stored.
– One way to use a picture on your desktop is to right-click on it and pick 'save as desktop' <or similar wording>, as Michael did, If you do it this way, it's often stored in the temporary directory.
– Note where you originally got the picture so you can get another copy if necessary.
– You can go to the temporary directory but it may still be hard to locate the exact file. You can get there by going to start -> run -> enter %temp% in the box -> hit return. Then switch the view to 'thumbnails' <later he called it "icon view">. That will help you locate the picture.
– To help find a particular type of file in the Temporary directory, you can go to View -> Arrange Icons by… -> type. <Then look for .jpg, .gif, .bmp etc.>

Julie called. She was given MacBook Pro which had been used with a wireless internet connection and she wants to use dialup, but she can't find the modem.
– They don't come with modems.
– You can buy an Apple modem (about $49) but the Mac OS must be earlier than version 10.6 or modem won't work. To check your version click the Apple logo on the upper left a pick 'About this Mac'.
– You might be able to use Wildblue, a satellite service, to get your internet. There may be a government program for rural folks that will allow you to get the service for about $39, but it's just a rumor.
– Make appointment at an Apple Store (even if you're out of warranty) and have them test if modem will work on your machine.

Summer called again. She suggested that Julie (see above) use Digital Path for her internet service.
She also mentioned Tineye, an addon for Firefox that lets you do a reverse search on pictures.
<There's a version for Opera, too. Yay!!>

Jayne called to offer Julie another suggestion for using the internet. What she does is use an older Mac that has both a modem and wi-fi. Then she uses this computer to get online and to share the connection with other computers in the house using its wi-fi.

 Last Updated: 5:19 PM 1/13/2012