Nov 23 2011: Mac Special
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 < >
Notes that Mikail mentioned during the show are appended at the end.
Glenn & Mikail Graham were in the studio
They talked mostly about the iPhone 4S & iOS5 — the latest operating system for the iPhone.
Because the Zentech website was still down at the time, Mikail said he'll post much of the discussed information to his Facebook page.
Glenn said he's still using the iPhone 3GS and Mikail said you can get a 16gig version for 99 cents with a 2 year contract. Verizon & Sprint have various configurations of the iPhone 4 starting at $99 for the 8gig and going up to $399.
Mikail said he now has an iPhone 4S and with it he got the Apple Care Plus protection plan. For $99 and $50 per incident, the Apple Care plan gives 2 years of protection from anything. Additionally, he gets to ask Apple's support staff any questions he has. He went on to say that unlike some other phones, the glass of the iPhone is more prone to breaking. That's one reason he recommends a protective case, an "invisible shield" and the Apple Care plan.
He also mentioned the he bought a set of Altec Lansing speakers from Fry's recently for $20. They can charge the iPhone as well as play the audio from the phone.
Mikail said he has a lot of tips for the iPhone users, one of which is taking a picture using the volume button. You can also predefine what the iPhone does for different finger actions. For instance, if you move your finger in a circle, the phone will open a particular app. You can also set up a custom vibration pattern so you can tell who, in particular, calls or texts you from the unique vibration. <See his Facebook page for more tips>
Mikail then did a little demonstration of Siri on the iPhone 4S. It's a voice-activated assistant that's connected to an Apple server, which does much of the processing. You can ask Siri questions like what the weather is and the command will go to the Apple server, which then returns the answer.
He said Siri has been hacked to do other things. One guy got it to control the thermostat in his house by voice command.
Mikail said there are ways to jailbreak the iPhone as well as a way to unlock it. When you unlock the phone you can use it on a different cell phone network by changing the SIM card. Or you can buy an unlocked 16gig iPhone for about $650. The Verizon iPhone has CDMA that doesn't use the SIM card and you can't switch networks, as yet. Sprint iPhones originally came unlocked but are now being sold as locked phones. The iPhone 4 with certain versions of the iOS can be unlocked if you use a special SIM with it.
Carriers other than the big 3 (Verizon, AT&T and Sprint) have the iPhone available, but not T-Mobile. Glenn has switched to T-Mobile from AT&T and has experienced more reception problems in the Nevada City area. He has also started using the MagicJack unit for his home phone. He is also thinking of encouraging people to use his Google Voice number. Calls made to that number can be directed to various destinations (cell phone, home phone or other temporary location). Glenn also reported that he's very happy with his MagicJack. <He said more about it on the previous show>
Jerry called. He just missed what Glenn said and asked for a thumbs up or thumbs down on the MagicJack.
– Thumbs up.
– The original MagicJack had to be connected to a computer but the unit Glenn has does not.
– This newer unit does have to be connected to an Ethernet port and you have to have a broadband service (but not a satellite service).
– You can use it with Comcast cable but you'll need to ask them for special modem that has an Ethernet port or add a router between the modem and the MagicJack.
Jerry then asked, if he drops AT&T phone service, will he have to pay more for his DSL.
– No, you're no longer required to have phone service to have DSL. This is what's called a naked DSL. Be sure to check with AT&T first.
– And don't drop your phone service before you port your phone number to a unit like the MagicJack.
– You can even port your number to Google Voice for $20.
Glenn helped a friend get DSL service and reports "DSL no longer exits for a new sales product", according to AT&T. All they offer is U-verse. But Glenn's skeptical — he thinks it just some kind of sales ploy to get people to buy the U-verse service. <see disclaimer>
The disclaimer:
Views and opinions expressed on this show are those of the speaker only and not necessarily those of KVMR, its board, management, staff or contributors.
Mikail noted that if you upgrade to iOS5 you might have an issue with the battery draining faster than with previous iOS versions. Apple is working on it and expects to have version 5.02 out before Christmas. "It's a real simple one to fix for the most part". Go into your Notification & Location settings and turning off the time server. Details will be in the notes he'll post to his Facebook page. <And the Zentech site, when it's working again>
Paula called. She's been having problems using Skype and MagicJack to talk to her husband in the Middle East.
– There may not be enough bandwidth.
– Be sure he doesn't have any apps that use the internet, including possible tasks running in the system tray — the box in the lower right corner.
– Some countries may be limiting access to certain services like Skype & MagicJack.
– Google Voice doesn't work well internationally, which was the next thing she was going to try.
Continuing with iOS5, Mikail said that it has iMessage built in so you can send text messages with pictures for free, but only to other iOS5 users of iPhone, iPad & iPad Touch. Google Voice also lets text for free.
Bruce called to ask if 2 people can talk to each other with both using Google Voice.
– Yes. It's not just for forwarding calls or voice mails. <No further details given>
Bruce went on to say he's been using Skype and that it's not limited to computers — there are phones (some made by Philips & GE) that connect thru a router <and a broadband connection, no doubt> and use Skype.
Another new feature in iOS5 is that you don't have to use a USB cable to do your synching — you can do it wirelessly. Mikail uses it in conjunction with Photostream so photos taken with one device will show up on his other devices.
– You can do photo and movie editing on the iPhone now.
– If some one sends you a video, you can save the attachment directly to the "camera roll",
Another new iOS5 feature Mikail likes is how easy it is to read message alerts on the "lock screen". You don't have to unlock to read them.
Mikail recommended an app called Hey Tell, for the iPhone or Android. It acts like a walkie-talkie. <I guess it's like sending a text message but it sends a voice message>
Jeff called to ask how much of what's been said about the iPhone is applicable to the iPad.
– Almost everything Mikail has said is applicable except for Siri.
– The iPad 2 has the same processor as the iPhone but it's been clocked down in the iPhone 4s to save on the battery life.
Mikail mentioned iTunes Match. It's a $24.99 a year service that lets you store and play back your music on the Apple server — up to 25,000 songs. If it determines that you're the owner of a song, you don't have to actually upload it to the server, it will play back a copy of the song from the vast iTunes library. <At least that's the way I understand what was said. The advantage of the service is that you can play the audio at different locations and devices>. And if you only had a 128k version of a song that you intended to upload, the matching song that iTunes Match sends you is a 256K lossless version. iTunes Match will only let you submit songs of a certain bit rate or higher, and if the version of the song you want to store is only 64k or 96k, you can use the iTunes program on your computer to re-encode it to the higher bit rate and then store that at iTunes Match. <So when you play it back, you get back a higher quality (matching) song than the one you submitted. I know, it's confusing. It was confusing to write it, but I think that's the best I could do>
Glenn asked Mikail about the Apple MobileMe service. It was a service where you were able to store your data online. It has been discontinued and replaced by iCloud.
– < FAQ about the transition here. >
– You can migrate all your MobileMe data to iCloud — the new service from Apple.
– With iOS5 you get 5gig of free storage on iCloud, but if you want to store "notes", you have to create an account.
– Dropbox is an alternative free storage service.
– Apps Gone Free and appadvice.com are a good way to find free or cheap apps & services.
Mikail mentioned a couple of more interesting apps:
– Pulsenews is a great RSS reader. <For Android or for the iPhone>
– TuneIn Radio for listening to radio stations. <For Android or the iPhone>
Leo called asking where he can get a tutorial for the iPhone 4.
– Check Mikail's Facebook page or send mail to him or to zen at kvmr dot org and you'll be directed to some tutorials.
<The following is from an email I got and is pretty much unedited>
Below are a ton of useful tips & tricks and links for today's show that you
can use for posting to the Zen Tech site and also will be a bit of a road
map for where/how the show will flow beyond the phone calls and improv that
Glenn and I do live. Thought it might help for us as well as the
listeners…
*A FEW LIVE EXAMPLES OF FUN SIRI THINGS WE CAN DO ON THE SHOW BESIDES JUST
TALKING ABOUT FEATURES & WHAT IS NEW [?]*
SIRI will be a fun feature to demo live…
We can do a few things like have SIRI send Paul an email or Glenn a TEXT
message or show how easy it is to set a REMINDER with nothing more than
one's voice.
We could also choose a song and have SIRI play it or tell us info about the
song that is playing, or tell SIRI to call one's self by a particular
nickname if you like, like this:
SIRI please call me Master, to which SIRI will reply: "OK I will now call
you Master"
*SIRI Fun – examples of the silly things you can ask SIRI – (we'll do some
of these live on the air)*
________________________________
1. What is the meaning of life
2. I Love You
3. Will you marry me
4. Open the pod bay doors
5. Siri siri siri
6. who made you
7. I’m drunk.
8. I’m going to kill myself.
9. What's the best phone?
10. Testing 1, 2, 3
11. I’m drunk
12. I’m going to kill myself
*LOTS OF TIPS & TRICKS, INFO & MORE + LINKS ON iOS 5 FOR THE ZEN TECH
WEBSITE*
these should be easy enough to just paste in w/o much work…
*
The MAChanic Facebook page* where Mikail posts FREE tips & tricks and
interesting Apple related articles regularly:
https://www.facebook.com/TheMachanic.MacTech
*iOS 5 Complete List of New Features
*If you are wondering what is new & worthy of checking out in the new iOS 5
for iPhone/iPod Touch & iPad, here is a great overview that lists all by
category.
A great overview of many of the *TOP New Features*
30 of the Best iOS 5 Features
(list)<http://www.gadgetreview.com/2011/10/30-of-the-best-ios-5-features.html>
*iOS 5 Hidden Features – Fun Videos (useful Tips for the iOS thrill seekers
among us!)
*iOS 5 BATTERY ISSUES TIPS
*
If after upgrading to iOS 5 & you find your battery life is much worse you
might want to check your 'Location' & 'Notification' settings as they may
be helping drain your power more than think…
Check this link for more info: *iPhone 4S: Notifications, Location
Services, the bane of good battery
*
*Note:* these tips worked well for me on an iPhone 4S with my battery life
improving by several hours if not more!*
iOS 5.01 UPDATE INFO*
Note: the recently released iOS 5.01 update has had rather mixed reviews, I
personally have not upgraded to it yet due to these issues and am awaiting
the rumored 5.02 update that is suppoed to drop sometime before Xmas 2011.
read the article at this link for more info: http://tinyurl.com/cab2cc5
*iMessage – what is it & why is it so cool?
*
*iOS 5 iMessage Feature Overview
*
Send and receive unlimited text, photo, and video messages with other iOS 5
users
Track messages with delivery and read receipts
Group messaging and secure encryption
Works over cellular network and Wi-Fi
*iOS 5 TIP: iMessage App
*So what's the difference from my old SMS Texting app?
iMessage is an application which allows iPhone users to send texts and
multimedia messages without being charged (for FREE!). This new feature is
quite similar to RIM’s Blackberry Messenger, better known as BBM, which
allows Blackberry owners to communicate via text fee free.
You can send infinite messages through any wireless services such as 3G,
Wi-Fi, 4G LTE from your much loved devices such as iPad, iPhone (iMessage
for iPhone 4) and iPod Touch. It also allows users to send text, pictures,
videos and contact messages to their friends.
The only caveat is that both sides need to be running iOS 5. Messages with
iMessage are unlimited and secure, too. You can talk to all your friends or
family at once with group messaging, and also see who’s reading with
delivery and read receipts. And if words aren’t enough, you can also send
photos, videos, locations, and contacts.
If you are using an iPhone 4S you can even ask Siri to text for you. Just
say "text (insert friend's name here)" then “I’m on my way” and Siri writes
your message and fires it off.
*How to Use iMessage So Everyone Will Love
You<http://gizmodo.com/5846238/how-to-use-imessage-so-everyone-will-love-you>
iOS 5 WiFi SYNC**
*
iOS 5 TIP: Wi-Fi Sync
Finally iPhone is now wire-free. you can now sync the device with iTunes
wirelessly. Presently, the Wi-Fi sync feature is only available to Mac OS
users and you must upgrade to Mac OS X 10.6.8, otherwise you won’t see the
Wi-Fi Sync option.For the very first time you use Wi-Fi sync, you have to
connect your device to computer and enable a “Wi-Fi Sync” option in iTunes.
Once the option is set, you’re ready to sync with your device wirelessly.
NOTE: Contrary to what I've read (including the article in the link below)
you do not have to have your iOS device plugged in to power nor USB once
you set it up on both the Mac and your iOS device. This means as long as
iTunes is open & running on your Desktop Mac you can freely sync via wifi
anytime you like.
*How to Use Wireless Sync in iOS
5<http://www.pcworld.com/article/242242/how_to_use_wireless_sync_in_ios_5.html>
*
*
iOS 5 PHOTO EDITING & ALBUM CREATION & HOW TO SAVE VIDEOS FROM AN EMAIL TIPS
*
*iOS 5 TIP: Photo editing comes to the Photos app!!
*In the Photos app for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, you can now do basic
image editing work. Simply by tapping on the edit button at the top right
of a photo, you get access to several iPhoto-like tools:
* Rotate, to turn your image in 90 degree increments
* Auto-enhance, which waves a magic wand and tries to balance your image
* Red-eye removal, so you can just say goodbye to flash-induced evil
possession
* Crop, which lets you cut away the parts of an image you don’t want, and
includes all the standard
*
i*OS 5 TIP: Create new photo albums in iOS 5 – and here is how to keep your
Camera Roll organized in iOS 5!
*
1. Open the Photo App in iOS 5.
2. Tap the action button in the top-right.
3. Tap the photos you want to include in your new album.
4. When you've selected all your photos, tap the Add To button at the
bottom.
5. Tap "Add to Existing Album" or "Add to New Album."
6. Choose your existing album or type in a name for your new album.
Now your camera roll photos will be organized and easy to manage on your
iOS 5 device. NOTE: the folders you create on your iOS device are not
transfered to your Desktop computer!
*iOS 5 TIP: Save Videos to Your Camera Roll!
*This is just one of those new 200 Features of iOS 5 that you might not
have yet realized, and certainly a most useful addition for anyone using an
iPhone.
Check this link for more info: *iOS 5 Allows You to Save Videos to Your
Camera Roll | Cult of
Mac<http://www.cultofmac.com/125638/ios-5-allows-you-to-save-videos-to-your-camera-roll/>
*
*
SIRI VOICE ASSISTANT INFO*
*"Siri, how much data do you gobble up in a
*
*What can you say & or ask SIRI?*
http://www.tuaw.com/2011/10/05/iphone-4s-what-can-you-say-to-siri/
**
*Silly & Siriously Weird SIRI Remarks
*http://siriouslyweird.tumblr.com/
*
A good review of SIRI in WIRED*
http://www.wired.com/reviews/2011/10/iphone4s/
*
iOS Useful Utilities*
*iPhone / iPod Touch Backup Extractor <http://supercrazyawesome.com/>*
a very useful FREE! tool for iOS folks. So what does it do?
This application converts the iPhone / iPod Touch backups that are created
by iTunes into readily usable Mac OS X files. It is designed to run on Mac
OS X 10.5 upwards.
What's it used for?
Extracting application resources for developers to help them investigate
bugs.
Exploring files that are created by third party applications using Finder.
Decoding the SQLite database files that are stored on the iPhone / iPod
Touch, such as Call History, SMS messages, and Notes.
*
**Recover iPhone, iPad or iPod photos from backups with
Picturescue<http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fpicturescueapp.com%2F&h=zAQHQTdMbAQGZ0MpHKMrV1EbWkvNVKNQdrkprjG6vPorJgQ>
*
A useful utility for restoring photos from a previous backup of your iOS
device. It's FREE to download and check out what photos are residing in
your old iOS backup files, but it'll cost you $4.99 in order to extract &
export any of them.
*How to quickly access settings from your Home
Screen<http://gigaom.com/apple/how-to-quickly-access-settings-from-your-home-screen/>
*
<http://gigaom.com/apple/how-to-quickly-access-settings-from-your-home-screen/>Don't
want to Jailbreak your iPhone but would still like to have access to a cool
Jailbreak like timesaver? Here is a 'fully legit' way to access useful
parts of your SETTINGS app via a one-touch-icon from your Homescreen. Or
access this link directly from your iOS device to add the profile of your
choice, and remember you can always delete the ones you don't need
afterwards: http://iphoneza.co.za/IconSettings/
*
iCloud*
*iCloud Overview (what you need to know)
*
iCloud vs. Wi-Fi Sync: Which does what?*
ttp://tinyurl.com/7znsgx4
*iTunes Match Info & Tips
**
Hands On With iTunes Match*
*Check Out Your Music's iCloud Status
*Dealing with iTunes Match's 25,000 Track Limit*
*Secrets of iTunes Match*
*EXTRA BITS & DEALS*
*
Jailbreaking & iOS 5 – CURRENTLY NOT RECOMMENDED!!!*
After seven betas, one GM and another performance improving update (which
itself has two betas), iOS 5 hasn’t received an untethered jailbreak yet.
Folks who wish to enhance their experience with apps and tweaks from Cydia
have to make do with a tethered jailbreak, but it appears that the
jailbreaking community is getting closer and closer to an untethered
jailbreak for iOS 5 as one hacker has sent out an update regarding its
progress.
No details have been given regarding the bug, but, perhaps, it is a
userland exploit like the five userland exploits which were announced by
p0sixninja at this year’s MyGreatFest. These userland exploits – unlike
bootrom exploits – are software-based and, hence, would be available for
all iOS devices, including iPhone 4S and iPad 2 (as was shown by MuscleNerd
of iPhone Dev Team), on the version of iOS which has the userland exploit.
The last userland exploit-based jailbreak was comex’s JailbreakMe which was
based on a PDF exploit in Mobile Safari on iOS 4.3.3. The main disadvantage
of a userland exploit is that it can be easily patched with a software
update whereas bootrom exploits cannot be patched unless hardware is
revised.
Current iOS 5 jailbreak is tethered-boot only, meaning you’ll have to
connect your device to your computer every time you need to restart it. If
you’ve got a supported iOS 5 device, you can jailbreak it using Redsn0w or
Sn0wbreeze. For more info I'd recommend doing a search for "iOS 5
Jailbreak".
*Apple's Black Friday Ad Leaked (good deals for the listeners)
*
New MacBook Air for $899 bundled with discounted $199 AppleCare* (time
sensitive so act quick for this deal!)
*
Pocket-Sized Projector for Your iPhone 4/4S*
*
PlugBug Charger, 10W USB iPad/iPhone Charger + MacBook Plug Attachment**
$34.99*
http://www.twelvesouth.com/products/plugbug/
————————–
OK hope all of this helps the cause…
*Whoops!!!*
One very cool goodie I forgot that would be most useful to the iOS crowd is
the following and should be placed under the EXTRA BITS & DEAL section.
*
Apps Gone FREE! – Get high quality paid apps for free each day. Every day
hundreds of apps reduce their price to free for a limited time*
Check their website out here:
http://appchronicles.com/category/apps-gone-free/
Or download the app directly for you iOS device from iTunes at:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/appsgonefree/id470693788?mt=8
Thanks much!!!
Last updated: 6:25 PM 11/24/2011
Nov 9, 2011
Notifications of new show notes and edits are tweeted at: twitter.com/ddhart
They're tagged with #Zentech
Editor's comments are delimited by < >
Both Glenn & Paul were in the studio today.
Glenn brought in a MagicJack unit and the guys spent some time talking about different options for a phone service. <Wikipedia article here.>
The MagicJack is $39.95 and you can get it at retailers, or online where shipping charges may apply.
– Their service includes 1-year free unlimited domestic, U.S. & Canada, long distance and cheap international calling.
– But you do have to plug it into your computer and the computer has to remain on to make & receive calls. In addition, the computer has to be running Windows.
|- Ongoing subscriptions are $20 per year.
– "You can port your own number to it". Glenn said he'll be doing that, as he seems to like it the unit.
What Glenn actually has is a MagicJack Plus (for $69.95 initial and $40/year ongoing and an optional 5 year prepaid plan that's even cheaper per year). This unit doesn't require a computer to plug in to. Instead, it can plug directly into an Ethernet port on a router. Glenn has yet to figure out how to get all of the phones in his house connected to the MagicJack — maybe disconnecting the incoming AT&T line at the outside box and connecting an unused wall plug to the MagicJack.
Glenn's MagicJack comes with voice mail, caller ID, call waiting and call forwarding. If you prepay for international calling, calls to many countries are about 2 cents per minute.
Paul noted that in some countries cell phone customers are charged for incoming calls at a premium rate and he avoids calling cell phone numbers in such cases.
Paul went on to say that Skype is another alternative for a phone service. It uses VOIP or voice over internet protocol. He also said ooma.com has a device similar to the MagicJack. It's a decentralized peer-to-peer network similar to Skype in the way it connects. He said it's surprisingly good and asked listeners who've used it for their opinions. Glenn said Ooma costs about $200 and there are no further charges.
Talking about Skype, Paul said that the individual packets travel by different routes (they're reassembled at the destination) and they are, he thinks, encrypted, so it's nearly impossible for the NSA or FBI to snoop on users. The origin and destination of the calls, however, are easily discovered.
<Here are articles concerning privacy with Skype & BitTorrent:
Researchers uncover privacy flaws that can reveal users' identities, locations and digital files.
New MS Office, Skype Could Spy on User Conversations
Researcher claims dangerous vulnerability in Skype>
Glenn said people without a MagicJack can make free calls to someone who has one by using an online VOIP service.
Charlie called in. He had been using Gmail while letting his computer fill in the password during login, but he eventually forgot the password. Now the computer has stopped filling in the password, so now he's stuck. <I've noticed this myself on some sites, and I think it sometimes happens when the login page gets changed so much that the browser no longer associates a password with it — I guess>.
– He's using the Firefox browser and there is a way to look at the passwords that it stores. Go to Tools -> Options -> Security -> Passwords. You'll then see an option to make Firefox display the password along with the website & user name information.
– You can also go to Gmail and click on the button that says something like "I lost my password", He said he tried that but he didn't have an alternate email where an new password can be sent. It's a good idea to provide an alternate email and challenge questions when you sign up for a service.
– It's not likely Gmail (Google) will be able to help him if he calls them directly.
– Keep entering possible passwords even though it may while. After about 3 attempts they may require you to respond to a captcha at each attempt.
Paul suggested a method for creating an easily remembered password. Pick a phrase that's meaningful to you and use the fist letter of each word in that phrase for the password. E.g. using the phrase "I can fly" would yield the password: icf. <It's usually recommended to choose a password several characters long and to add some symbols (! # $ etc) or numbers>
<Password tips mentioned in shows for Aug 23, 2010, Jul 27, 2011 and Jun 8, 2011>
<Password managers mentioned in show for Dec 15, 2008>
There are web sites & browser extensions that store passwords for you and some store other info, for instance, to fill in forms. Roboform was mentioned.
Rick called with a suggestion for remembering passwords. He said he writes all of his confidential information on cards and stores them in a safe place at home. He also uses just the first couple of letters of a word that's meaningful to him and depends his memory for the rest of the word. He then said not to use passwords that are personally relevant to you but are also commonly known to people you associate with or are otherwise easily discovered — spouse's name, your phone number, etc.
Rick also said he's been dissuaded from using Facebook because it's easy to share too much with too many people.
– Sign up using a pseudonym and a fake profile (age, location, etc).
– Paul said advertisers can indeed end up with your information from Facebook.
– You can set up Facebook so only your Facebook friends but NOT friends of friends will see your posts.
– Stick to email to keep your communications private instead of posting to Facebook.
– Even when using email don't click on links in an email if it's not from someone you know.
– And be aware that the email account of someone you know may be compromised. It's best to check with them before you click on any links in email form them.
– Email from a bank asking you to click on a link to fix some problem is likely to be a phishing attack. Call the bank (using their number from a directory) to confirm — don't click such links.
Michael called. He wanted to know if he could listen to this show in the Bay Area.
– Yes, KVMR is broadcast on the internet. You can hear a .mp3 stream at the "Listen Live" link on KVMR's front page.
<Podcasts of past KVMR shows are here.>
Michael went on to ask about the reaction of the technology sector to the Occupy movement. He was wondering if the new media (the internet) will follow the old media (print & broadcast) with unfavorable views of the Occupy movement. <Paul seemed to interpret his question to be whether the movement's message can be censored>
– The internet was developed for the military to be robust.
– Such attempts are subject to failure. Paul mentioned the Streisand Effect — "attention is drawn to something the moment you do try to shut it down".
– And remember, it's because of technology that word of the Occupy movement spread.
– Paul's view is that the internet is just a tool for communication and is essentially neutral.
The disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on this show are those of the speakers only and not necessarily those of the station or its board, its management, the staff, the contributors or the animals that belong to the people concerned.
Yvonne called. She uses AT&T DSL on a LAN and it & keeps going out for her and 2 others.
– Paul said some modems, from AT&T, were bad — they would occasionally reboot. In that case the modem's red light goes on indicating a reboot. That's not true in her case.
– Call AT&T…She's done that and they attempt to service her connection, but the problem comes back.
– Talk to AT&T asking them to check their service records so they know the problem has not gone away.
– Check your contract for the minimum level of service to expect. You may be due to not only reimbursement, but also compensation for the lost service.
Lily called saying some keys on her laptop are not working — she has to push hard. She's tried to blow out and also vacuum the keyboard but that hasn't helped.
– Paul's guess is that the electrical contacts have failed.
– Paul found out that she has a Dell Inspiron 1545 and said that those 4-digit series of Dell Inspirons had this problem in common.
– Check Ebay for a used keyboard. Paul had recently replaced a friend's keyboard for only $8.
– You can try to find a Youtube video showing how to change the keyboard. You just have to pop the top panel off, undo 2 screws and a connector — that's it.
– Also, first be sure it's not under warranty.
Last updated: 10:16 PM 11/11/2011
Oct 12, 2011
HEARING TEST here
Notifications of new show notes and edits are tweeted at: twitter.com/ddhart
They're tagged with #Zentech
Editor's comments are delimited by < >
Glenn was in the studio and Paul called in from England.
The guys played around on the site for the hearing test. If you go there, be sure to read the instructions as it's possible to damage your hearing taking the test. See the above link.
Jeff called. He has MacBook as is uses the outline feature in Word for Mac. He said sometimes the A) a) 1) etc don't come up automatically — he has to enter them manually.
– Word tries to follow how you started using the indents. Jeff said it does that sometimes but not always.
– First update the Office suite of programs. It's a separate procedure from updating the Mac. Open <run> the Word program and under the Help menu look for "Check for updates" or maybe "Update Office for Mac". This will update ALL the Office programs.
– "Sometimes the menu system doesn't work" in which case you can go to Applications -> open folder called Microsoft Office 2008 -> find the Microsoft Auto Update App. Paul said he may be wrong and the location of the app is elsewhere, so try the previous method 1st.
– While you're at the update menu, it's a good idea to set it for automatic updates.
– In Word under Insert there's an item called something like 'List". Look for 'bulleted list' and you may be able to set how it behaves.
Doug called and said he's having trouble finding the link to the hearing test.
– Go to zen.kvmr.org, click on Show Notes and then on the show notes for today.
John called. He has MacBook Pro and uses Picasa to manage his photos. When he puts captions on the photos and then tries to email them, the captions don't stay with the photos.
– Paul said that he doesn't use Picasa that way. He publishes them to his Gmail account. After they're published, you can caption them.
– So, in Picasa use the "Publish" menu item and "upload" them to the web album. Then, using the "Share Album" menu, you can enter additional comments and determine whom you want to share with.
– If you insist on using email you can provide the caption in the body of the email.
Paul had a suggestion for people who travel across timezones. Instead of changing the time on your cameras, phones, laptops, etc., change the timezone setting. That way, timestamps on emails and any alarms you've set will reflect the true value.
Marilyn called about a problem with her mouse. Sometimes the arrow <pointer on the screen> doesn't move with the mouse & sometimes the red light of the optical mouse goes out.
Paul said the USB plug isn't very robust — the insert in the connector that has the contacts on it can bend or break.
– Try a different USB port.
– If that doesn't work, try a different mouse. The cable may be damaged.
– For $8 to about $20 you can get a wireless mouse. And look for a nano receiver to go with it. With the smaller receiver there's less chance of damage to the USB port.
– In general, avoid applying unnecessary pressure to anything plugged into a computer.
Next Zentech show is on Nov 9. There will be NO Zentech show on Oct 26 due to a membership drive.
Glenn lent Paul a digital video camera, for use during his trip, which uses a flash drive for storing the video. It's a Sanyo Xacti with a X30 zoom. He said he was very impressed with this small & light camera. It does 720 dots resolution, but he said it's not 'full' HD which would be 1080 pixels left to right on the screen. He also said the battery lasts at least 1 hour.
He mentioned that Youtube now accepts HD video uploads and provides a conversion to lower resolution for those with slower connections.
Glenn read an email from Brian who asked if there's better alternative to Winamp, which he currently uses on his PC, for playing his MP3 files.
– Paul used Winamp before iTunes got as good as it has. But iTunes stores the audio files where IT wants — depending on how you have it configured.
– iTunes "can make what looks like irreversible changes to your music collection…It's important to understand how iTunes works before you start using it."
Brian also asked about a stand-alone hard drive MP3 player that connects to a hi-fi.
– Paul, "The answer has got to be, I'm afraid, an iPod".
– Glenn suggested the possibility of using a $100 music player made by Jawbone that receives via Bluetooth. <wireless receiver plugged into the hi-fi, I guess> If you plug this device into you sound system, then any device that has Bluetooth (Android, iPhone, etc) will be able to play music on your stereo.
Today, Google has an animated graphic of Gumby in acknowledgement of Art Clokey's 90th Birthday. <click on the balls for more animation>
Paul speculated that the recent increase of version numbers by Mozilla's Firefox is an effort to look like it's keeping up with its competitors.
Doug called again to say Art Clokey passed away a couple of years ago.
If you want to look at previous logos by Google, go to google.com/logos. There are different ones for different countries. Be aware that the ones for April 1 may be especially interesting.
Paul mentioned the Wayback Machine at archive.org that has web pages from the past.
Paul said a court of law had ruled that cookies.txt, <later he said robots.txt> a file that controls the access to search engines, should be retroactive. Things can be retroactively removed from the Wayback Machine. The historical web pages have been used in court, for instance, to show the subversive intent of an individual.
Michael Moore will be on KVMR on Oct 29.
<from the show notes of 9-28-11:
Michael Moore will be in Nevada City on Sat Oct 29 in a benefit talk and book signing for KVMR. You can buy tickets, online or here at the station,>
Paul talked about the delay between the FM radio broadcast and the webcast of the Zentech show. The delay can be up to 15 seconds because of the time it takes for the equipment to prepare it for the webcast.
That reminded Paul about the movie "The Kings Speech" and people with a stammering problem. Recent corrective techniques employ a delay between the speaking and the hearing of what's just been spoken by these people. Earplugs with special delaying circuitry change the feedback by about .1 seconds. Though they show a remarkable improvement, the effect is not permanent. Look up "stammer correction" on Youtube to see examples.
Paul mentioned that he had some trouble using Skype & Secure Shell when he was in Prague. He thought it was because he used a public network that locked out anything that could cause trouble and only allowed port 80 to work. He didn't think that it was an institutional policy but was done to avoid complications.
Otherwise, Paul said, Prague is an interesting place to visit.
– Has the world's largest collection of Art Nouveau in the buildings, railings, lighting, statuary, etc.
– It's a haven for artists who can live there cheaply.
– The public art dates back several hundred years.
– It has a wide array of the performance arts and outside cafes.
– The people are friendly but not especially engaging.
– It's relatively inexpensive to live there.
Ross called. He thought that with phone plans getting so expansive it might make sense to get an iPod <presumably the Touch> to do video calling <using wi-fi I'm guessing>.
Without answering such a hypothetical question, the guys related their own situation…
– Paul said he has a jailbroken & unlocked iPhone using a SIM card he's had for a long time. He pays $19 per month for voice only and uses wi-fi for data.
– Glenn has an unlocked iPhone 3GS and he's using T-Mobile with voice & data for $50 per month. <more about his plan in the 9-28-11 notes >
Remember, there's no show on Oct 26. Next show on Nov 9.
Last Updated: 9:35 PM 10/12/2011
Sep 28, 2011
Additional notes
Notifications of new show notes and edits are tweeted at: twitter.com/ddhart
They're tagged with #Zentech
Editor's comments are delimited by < >
Glenn was in the studio. Paul was in Southern Germany and intended to call in, but he never did.
Glenn talked about his switch from AT&T to T-Mobile. He said that though the Verizon iPhone doesn't contain a SIM card and is therefore difficult to switch to a different carrier, the switch to T-Mobile from AT&T is easy because both support the SIM card.
He purchased a 1 month trial from T-Mobile to see if reception was acceptable in the Nevada County foothills and found that, indeed, it was. For those times when he can't get reception, he plans to depend on Google Voice to forward his calls.
– He seemed to imply that T-Mobile offers unlimited voice, txt and data for $50/mo.
– He only gets the 1st 100 meg of data at 4G speed and then it goes down to 2G speed.
– He's a bit unhappy with T-Mobile's voice mail because, in addition to his out-going message, T-Mobile adds its own voice menu which charges 15 seconds or so to the caller's minutes. He plans to explore options to turn that off.
He mentioned that if you plan early termination of your phone contract, check to see if the phone company added any fees or extra assessment during the contract period. That means the phone company violated the contract and you may therefore avoid any cancellation charges.
He then talked about the AVG anti-virus program. It will soon be going to version 2012 and cautioned people about choosing either the free or paid version. In the upgrade process, you'll eventually get a screen with check boxes for either the basic free version or one with a firewall and additional features. He said the Windows firewall is adequate and you don't need to buy the extra features.
He also said that the AVG upgrade process will also want to install a toolbar and one other thing — uncheck those 2 items. The final items ask if you want to join the "feedback team and email team" — you can go either way here.
Mark called in and said he's using Firefox and it keep prompting him to upgrade to the latest version. He wanted to know if that's a good idea.
– Glenn says it's up to you.
– Glenn's using at older version on his netbook because, at about version 4, there were changes made to the interface that he doesn't like. But in version 6, he said, some of those changes have been undone.
– One thing he didn't like is having the tabs at the top instead of directly above the web page, but there is a setting to change that.
Mark wondered of there's a way to keep Firefox from nagging about the upgrade.
– There is no way to stop the upgrade prompts. Just close that window when it appears.
Mark asked if any files would be lost in the upgrade.
– Files for bookmarks, history etc. will remain unchanged.
Mark went on to say that he turned off the history feature in Firefox and that affected his email — it no longer remembered his login. He wondered if the two were actually related.
– They shouldn't be. Passwords are handled separately under Options -> Security.
But Mark said when he turned history back on, his passwords started working as before.
– Glenn said he'd have to experiment with that and asked Mark to email him later.
Mike called to say he has an older Dell desktop and thinks he needs to change the battery because the clock and calendar are way off. He wanted to know how difficult it would be.
– It's not very involved.
– Check the numbers on the battery. It's likely to be either a 3025 or a 2025. They are readily available.
– Look online for your model of computer to get instructions on opening it and locating the battery.
– Be careful not to break the tabs holding the battery.
– Afterwards, the time will need to be set. The computer will <eventually> set the clock when you go onto the internet, or you can set the time manually. <Double-click the clock in the lower right of the screen>
James called. He's having a problem with his Mac laptop (running Snow Leopard) that he got at the end of 2007. He does a lot of writing and when he drags text from the internet into Text Editor the program won't allow him to save his work and he has to turn the computer off.
– It may be that the program was not created to deal with text being dragged into it.
– Test to see if dragging text into Microsoft Word causes the same problem.
James said he went into 'disk utilities' and saw an option about clearing history. He asked Glenn what that's about — he thought it might have something to do with his problem.
– Glenn said he doesn't know enough about the Mac to advise him and asked listeners to call in with suggestions.
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Kate called. She has a Dell Optiplex with XP and its hard drive crashed. She wanted to know how to recover the data.
– Try putting the drive in a different machine. <presumably to be sure it's the drive, not the computer>
– There are data recovery sites, but they charge a lot — up in the $1000's.
– Remember to back up your data before a failure.
– Try using a Linux live CD that can be booted from a CD drive. You may then be able to access the hard drive. Search zen.kvmr.org for various Linux options. <e.g. Ubuntu>
Glenn mentioned that Michael Moore will be in Nevada City on Sat Oct 29 in a benefit talk and book signing for KVMR. You can buy tickets, online or here at the station, starting next week. <I bet the KVMR's main page will say something about it >
Paul called. He has a Compaq laptop and suddenly he can't boot up — the screen is all black. He wondered if he also has a problem with the battery.
– No, the battery we talked about is only for the on-board clock, so that's unlikely. But it wouldn't hurt to change it anyway
– It can be the motherboard or screen are bad.
– If there is a pattern of beeps at startup, note that pattern and look it up at the vendors web site to decipher the meaning — it's telling you what's wrong.
– Try other things like cleaning out the dust from the interior using compressed air and a soft brush. And try reinserting the memory modules.
– Connect an external monitor to help diagnose a problem with the screen.
Glenn than talked about using cell phones in cars. He mentioned this article.
"Hold the phone: Motorists warned starting Saturday"
< In a related matter there this article further down the page…
"Fact Checker: Do cellphone, texting bans decrease car crashes?">
Marilyn called about laptop batteries. She has a Dell laptop and was getting a lifespan of about a year and a half from the battery. She usually uses the AC cord and just depends on the battery in case the power goes out.
– Instead of buying batteries and given her usage strategy, Glenn suggested a UPS <uninterruptible power supply> that can be had from $35 to $75 and can give you 3 to 5 minutes to shut the computer down when power goes out.
– Glenn said the brand of the battery can matter. Sony & Dell have had problems in the past.
– Try using Ebay for your battery shopping.
Glenn signed up for Google Plus but didn't use it much to say much about it. But he did get a note from Paul who said it's better integrated than facebook and you can use Picasa, Web Albums and other apps live.
<Here are a couple of articles about it…here and here>
Next Zentech show is on Oct 12.
Last Updated: 9:04 PM 9/28/2011
Sep 14, 2011
Notifications of new show notes and edits are tweeted at: twitter.com/ddhart
They're tagged with #Zentech
Editor's comments are delimited by < >
Glenn was in the studio, Paul called in from the UK.
Paul said the new convenience for air travelers will come when they're allowed to store their boarding pass on a smartphone, making the process paperless.
That led he to talking about QR codes (Quick Response codes), aka 3-D bar code,
– They don't require a laser scanner <like at a grocery checkout> to be read. Just a picture of it with a smartphone camera can decipher its meaning.
– Up to 256 characters can be stored in 1 QR code rectangle.
– When used as a boarding pass, they can be quickly scanned at the gate.
– Though the QR code is patented, it has been released to the public domain.
<Something to think about before scanning a QR code here.>
Paul did a Google search for "QR code" and came up with a Wikipedia link and a link to a site that will generate a code for you.
There are various apps for smartphones to read QR codes. The one Paul is using is called Beetagg. He said it works with iOS 3 on the iPhone.
– The QR code can store different types of information and a prefix tells the reading app the type of info that follows. <E.g. if it says the following info is a web address, the app can tell the phone to go to that web site with no further input by you — ergo, Quick Response>.
– A typical use is to put a QR code on your business card that contains the same info that's printed on the card. Someone can then scan the code and the info on the card would go directly into their contact list.
– Paul directed listeners to the Wikipedia article, which has many interesting links.
Glenn said he tried using an app called "The UP Code". That got Paul talking about the UPC code used in merchandizing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UPC_code
– The UPC only represents a number. That number is linked to a universal database. The meaning of the number is stored in the database and manufacturers have agreed to each number's single universal meaning.
– There is a 1 to 1 relationship between that number and a particular product.
– On the other hand, the QR code is a self-contained packet of information and doesn't need a database. As a result, it doesn't have the universally agreed-to meaning like a UPC code, though a UPC number can be stored within a QR code, as a special case.
– There are QR code apps for Palm Pilot, Android and Blackberry, too.
Dennis called in and said there are also EAN & the similar JAN bar codes used in Europe & Japan. He also said that QR code boarding passes are already being using by United Airlines.
Dennis then asked if there's a Windows NTP <Network Time Protocol> server that can be used on a local network. Unlike a NTP client that gets a time signal from the internet and sets your computer's clock, the server provides the signal by which other computers would set their clocks.
– Not knowing the answer, Paul asked listeners for suggestions. <But see below for a solution>
Glenn said he's using T-Mobile now as his phone & data provider. He has an unlimited voice, txt and data plan. The plan limits data to 200 meg at 4G speeds but it's unlimited at 3G speeds, though it's throttled down after 200 meg.
Paul said there's a study showing that even hands-free use of a phone in a car, though legal, significantly increases risk.
Paul related a bit of history about one of the tunnels under the Thames River in London. It was built at a time when horses were used. The tunnel was built with some turns in it such that a horse would not see the light at the end, and thus bolt for it, until it was quite near the exit. He speculated that some US freeways, especially in the Midwest, were built with arbitrary curves to relieve driver boredom.
Ed called with a suggestion for an NTP server. It's an older program called AboutTime.
An attempt to standardize time across all time zones gave us UTC or Universal Time Coordinated, said Paul. It's an average of many atomic clocks <and it's adjusted to the nearest second using leap seconds>. UTC is different from the older GMT <Greenwich Mean Time>. Paul said that though GMT provided a common time that all clocks can agree with, it was not well synchronized with celestial events.
The guys mentioned that wristwatches are falling to disuse because people can now get the time from their cell phones.
James called & asked if the guys have heard about a unit of time called the chronon. Neither had, but looking it up, Glenn said it's a unit of quantum time <apparently different from Planck time>.
While looking up chronon, Paul found an online stopwatch.
Jim called. He had done a backup with TimeMachine on his Mac but when he lost his desktop (none of his files were there) and tried to retrieve the backup, the operation was not completed because TimeMachine said the files were "already there". This happened after an upgrade to the Lion operating system.
– Before trying to restore the backup, make sure that data is nowhere on the machine. Open finder and look underneath "Users". You should see an account with a recognizable name (like your name), If there is another account or profile, look in there and you may find your missing files.
Jim asked, if worse came to worst, could he do a clean install and then retrieve the backup.
– Yes. But be sure TimeMachine had backed up the latest files <or you may be restoring old data>.
– Before you do that, try to find the missing files as suggested.
Paul said that Apple already includes software for scanning & printing in their machines and that it's sometime better, especially with HP printers, not to install the manufacturer's software. He said there's no harm (on the Mac) plugging in the printer/scanner without installing the product's software. He suggested checking online for further info. <I find the forums at the manufacturer's web site pretty useful, as well as a Google search>
Gary called in. He has an approx. 6-year-old Toshiba laptop and it's gotten painfully slow. He took it to Staples and they tested it & said the hard drive will die soon. He wondered if he should buy another hard drive or just get another computer.
– 1st back up your data.
– Glenn disagreed with Staples and thought reloading Windows would help. He said it's been mentioned before that reloading Windows, maybe once a year, will keep it running efficiently.
– Before doing that, Paul suggested using some cleanup programs like Crap Cleaner (CCLEANER) & Registry Cleaner (EUSING Registry Cleaner or NTREGOPT registry optimizer).
– Another approach is to replace the existing hard drive with a clean one and install Windows on it. Glenn chimed in to say that serial <SATA> hard drives are reasonably priced, but older 2.5" IDE drives cost "serious bucks". Paul said to look for used drives if this computer is just for casual use.
Another James called in wanting to know if there's an easy way to remove Mozilla Thunderbird's "all mail" file.
– Google mail tends to store a lot of messages there if you use IMAP.
– Go to Tools -> Account Settings -> Synchronization & Storage then click the Advanced button and uncheck the "all mail" folder. That will prevent it from synchronizing the huge bulk of email.
Kathy called. Her daughter's laptop had a bunch of viruses and she had someone do a restore and an upgrade to Windows 7. When she went to restore her data from the Carbonite backup service, "everything froze up". Apparently Carbonite had Vista's files.
– Win7 & Vista use the same file locations but the file structures are different.
– Start Win7 in safe mode and create a different account on it.
– The answer is to restore the data to a folder of your choosing, not where it came from. E.g. restore to a folder on the desktop then manually drag the individual files "onto the new machine".
– Apparently Carbonite has not updated their software to handle such a situation.
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Last Updated: 11:50 PM 9/14/2011