Editor's comments are delimited by < >

Glenn reminds people to back up. External media is so cheap now — Paul has seen 8gig flash below $20. And do a dry run in restoring the data so you know everything is working ok.

Glenn got a used iPhone. You need iTunes to be able to interface with the iPhone. Even if you want to use it as an external hard drive, you'll need iTunes and check the box for that. This needs to be done only once, then you can access the iPhones flash memory anywhere else.

You can't, "routinely", synch to more than 1 machine at a time

Paul's most useful gadget for the iPhone is a video cable that has composite out. Be careful to get the cable specifically for the equipment you have.

At Fry's Glenn found a Philips SDV2710/27 Passive Indoor Antenna (for digital TVs) on sale for $16.99. He got it for a friend who lost channel 10 & channel 6 on the June 12th conversion date. It's a directional antenna and it solved his problem. An outdoor antenna should work even better.
Paying more for an antenna gives you diminishing returns — doubling the price does not give you twice the signal strength.
Those having trouble receiving the KVMR signal may use a TV antenna to improve FM reception. See here for helpful tips.

Paul is impressed by the EVA9000 media server by Netgear which comes with a 500gig drive. It's able to store and deliver any multimedia — pictures, movies, music, .gif, .pdf, you name it — except for DRM media (digital rights management). You can connect it to your TV with HDMI, composite video, component video, or S-video. It has an Ethernet port, wireless port and infrared controller. Once you get it networked, it becomes a network access storage device — the 500gig is shared on the network.
It can also play an ISO image of a DVD (decrypted).
You can connect your iPhone, or even an external hard drive, to one of it's 2 USB ports.

For capabilities similar to the EVA 9000 see the Linux project called MythTV.

MobileMe comes with iTunes. It stores your contacts & emails on the web and synchs the info on various platforms. It comes on a trail basis and works with the PC, Mac and iPhone.

Tips for iPhone users, when you see you've pressed the wrong key, don't lift your finger but drag it toward the key you really wanted, when its image shows up then let go.
If you want to correct something you've typed further back, put you finger on the text and hold it there for a second. A magnifying glass showing your cursor comes up and you slide your finger back & forth.
In your home window, go left a few times and a search window comes up that allows you to search for anything on the phone.

Glenn talks about someone who didn't have secure wireless at an RV park but it was secure at the library across the street. This person would use the library connection to do banking.
– Such "secure" connections are meant only to get access to the library's router and has no bearing on your security on the internet itself.
– Such "secure" connections do make it harder (not impossible) to snoop on the wireless signal itself.
– Beware of people looking over you shoulder in any case.
– In the case of a bank which uses a secure protocol, it doesn't matter which type of network you're on, it will be secure end to end.
– Problems occur, even if you're using a secure connection, when a bunch of people share the same network and your computer has security issues like the firewall is turned off or it's set to share files.

A local caller has an old TV and asks if the mentioned antenna would allow her to pick up local channels.
– There are no local stations in Nevada City.
– She'll also need to get a converter box, coupons are still available.
– If her TV doesn't have a coax antenna connection, she's out of luck.

<There used to, and may still, be a twin lead to coax converter (aka a 300ohm to 75ohm converter, or Balun), so even really old TV's can go digital.>

Someone called to say he tried a couple of DTV converter boxes for his mother in Meadow Vista with no luck.
– Try the Roku Netflix box. Though not live TV, it may satisfy. It's talked about in a previous show.

Ellen called to say she's trying to use the Mac Disk Utility to partition an external hard drive. She can't find the "partition" button to click on, as per instructions.
– Various revisions of OS10 have different instruction to do this.
– Find out which revision you have by clicking on the Apple logo in the upper left and click "about". Then google the phrase: Apple disk utility 10.xx partitioning. Where xx is the revision number that "about" reported. That should get you the correct instructions.

Mikail called to add that Ellen should select a drive not a partition. Disk utilities won't allow you to partition an already partitioned drive.

Mikail goes on to say there are many alternatives to the Roku Netflix box:
Xbox
Tivo
LG BD300
Samsung BDP2550 & BDP2500
Sony just announced all their new HDTVs will be Netflix compatible
The Playstation

A caller has more suggestions for Ellen. If she has an old or off-brand external hard drive, be sure to install any needed drivers.
Also, Paul says he's gotten a Mac to recognize a drive by simply going to:
Apple logo –> about –> system information

A caller says he's decided to get an iPhone because of tethering and the free app Shazam.
Shazam identifies music by "listening" to it and then gives you the option to buy it.

A caller says he tried to send a playlist, from a Mac, to a someone by taking a screen shot in iTunes and attaching it to a Word document, but the recipient couldn't receive it because the software warned that it needed to be decompressed. Is there another way.
– Go to the File menu –> Print. In the lower left select PDF so the playlist will be printed to a PDF file.

He continued by asking how to transfer the entire iTunes library to a laptop.
– Get a dual Firewire cable that goes between machines
– On the machine that has the library, start it up while holding the T key down (that turns it into a target Firewire drive).
– Start the other machine, and you'll see an external hard drive, which is laptop #1. Under your login profile you'll see "music", under that you'll see the iTunes folder. Drag it to the same place on the new machine (it WILL WIPE OUT everything under iTunes). Also the target machine should not have its iTunes running. Now everything iTunes will be identical on both machines. This also works with the PC.
<I think I heard that right but it could be the 2 machines should be reversed. To be safe, please back up what ever you don't want to lose. And you may want to confirm the order of hookup by writing to zen at kvmr dot org>

— Additional Notes — 

Editor's comments are delimited by < >

The offer of computer tune-ups for pledging financial support to KVMR is still available.
– Call (530) 265-9555
– Join online here.

Noise suppressing headphones merely block some of the noise from getting to your ears. Noise canceling headphones create a sound that is 180 degrees out of phase of the incoming noise so that the waveforms actually cancel each other.

Noise canceling headphones normally have a power source like a battery. Some work to cancel noise even when not plugged into a music player, thus acting like ear plugs/muffs. They work best with a continuous type of noise. Some allow you to listen to music, without canceling noise, if the battery dies.
If you google "cnet noise canceling review" you'll see results like this or this.

The disclaimer: views & opinions are those of the show's hosts only.

Why and how viruses get on machines and what they do when they get there. The above link will show you what a botnet does, presented in a non-technical way.

iPhone 3GS has just come out, as well as version 3 of the firmware. It contains a search facility and a voice recorder. Text messages & email will now rotate properly.

A faster & better Snow Leopard 10.6 scheduled to come out in Sept. You'll need at least an 800MHz machine & 512meg of memory.

Memory is much cheaper than it used to be — about $15 per gig for a desktop. Go to kingston.com put in your make/model of computer and it'll tell you what memory it came with, maximum amount it can have and how it can be configured (what type in what slot). Be aware, just because particular memory can be put into a machine, it may not all be recognized (available).

memtest86.com has an free application to test your memory if you suspect it's faulty. You'll have to create a bootable CD, floppy or flash drive.

crucial.com also gives similar info as the Kingston site.

John called from Carmichael to say noise cancellation is also used in a factory setting and that the police helicopters in Sacramento use noise cancellation when the fly over populated areas. He also says the cancellation is fairly directional. And, he says, don't use it while driving, you may not hear the car behind you.

Charlie, a Mac user, called to say he switched to Gmail but can't send mail from a link on a web page that allows you to send a news article to a friend.
– The reason is that he's using web-based mail to do the job.
– He may be able to configure the mail program on his computer to use Gmail.
– Apple Mail 2.0 – Gmail Help
– Apple Mail 3.0 (Leopard) – Gmail Help
– But don't configure the incoming server of the Apple mail program.
– On the Mac, you can't change the default mail program from the one that came with the machine.
– Windows users can also configure the SMTP server in a similar manner, so the sent mail goes thru the Gmail server.

Sometimes Windows users find that their default mail program has been changed.
– Change the default mail program by going to (XP): Control Panel -> Network & Internet Connections -> internet options -> program tab

It's important to notice what things look like when all is working well (like the lights on your Ethernet router) so you can tell what might be wrong when you have problems. <I try to keep notes when I make changes to the settings>

A caller is helping a friend with an Intel iMac (10.5 OS) who's stored many files stored in the first directory of Finder.
– First make a TimeMachine backup to an external hard drive, in case you screw up. It's a good idea to do this anyway. The backup hard drive should be twice the size of the internal hard drive.
– It may not really be any problem, it's just not esthetically pleasing.
– If files are moved, be sure the friend is there to see where they went.

A caller with a Sony Vaio smashed the screen and wants to know how to replace it.
– Check your home insurance, it may be covered
– Laptop screen replacement has come down in price to around $200, half of which is the cost of the screen itself.
– A screen from Sony would cost more than if you get it from a third party. Consider sending in for repair.
– Plug in an external monitor to be sure everything else is working before getting a new screen.
– You may have to reboot the laptop to get it to recognize the external monitor, maybe even press a special key.

Caller asks if there is a problem with tagged.com, he thinks it may be stealing the contents of the address book.
– Paul says that link is redirected to mybrowserbar.com, which is spyware. Stay away from it.
– When your addresses are stolen, you my get a bogus invitation from one of your contacts to visit their web site or social networking site. Be careful about clicking on such links.
– Periodically run your anti-virus software. AVG is suggested at free.avg.com.
– Paul says there's no reason to have an anti-virus program on a Mac.

Paul seems impressed with the Roku Sound Bridge model M1001 which streams internet radio stations. You can listen to stations from around the world. He found it on sale for $129.

The gal, who is thinking about moving the files on her friend's iMac, called again. She wonders if doing a software update on that machine will be a problem if the files are NOT moved. Paul doesn't think so since the Application folder is still in the right place. He hints that it's just as well if the files are not moved.

Glenn likes using the Roku Netflix. Also see the previous show's notes.

Additional notes

Editor's comments are delimited by < >

Much of the show was a pitch for memberships as part of pledge drive.
You can pledge at kvmr.org (check out the thank you gifts) or call…
Locally: 265-9555
or 800-355-5865 (800-355-KVMR)

Those using a converter box for their DTV should rescan periodically because stations will be adding channels.

Glenn would like to hear from people who are having problems after the DTV conversion. <email to zen at kvmr dot org>

A caller, whose husband installs converter boxes & antennas, says they've been getting many calls since the DTV transition. She also says some stations start out at low power and go to full power later (like KCRA channel 3), so rescan periodically. And, she says, if people were not getting good UHF reception before the switch they may have even more problems as many stations are going to UHF.

At $99 the Roku box (above link) streams Netflix content. It connects your TV to content at Netflix via the Internet

Get more information about the analog to DTV switch over by following the link above.

Previous Zentech guest, Coryon Redd, is giving new classes about internet marketing. Search the Zentech site for show notes & audio featuring Coryon.
The classes are on:
Thursday June 18 for beginners.
That class is repeated Tue June 23.
On July 16 there's an intermediate class.
All classes are from 6:30pm to 9pm.
The location is 560 Wall Street in Auburn
530-823-4703
Or go to sedd.org

Special thank gift for those who pledge today only:
For a membership pledge of $60 — 1 hour of computer tune-up, a performance tweet
For a membership pledge of $150 — 1.5 hour of tune-up and service.

You may also listen to KVMR over the internet here.

You don't have to have a computer to listen to internet radio. There are ethernet-based devices made by Logitech (the Squeeze Box, about $300) and Roku (on sale for $129, usually about $200, see the above link)

A caller has a problem with power jack on the back of her HP laptop. She wants to know if the advice she got, that the mother board needs to be replaced, may be true.
– If the problem is with the part on the computer itself, then probably yes.
– Do back-ups while you can.
– New laptops may cost about as much as the repair of the old machine. Consider getting a new machine.

'Recovery Console' (see the above link) is different from 'Safe Mode' in that Windows is not run at all. It's used, for instance, when the master boot record is damaged. Normally the original CD is required to use it, but follow the link above to learn how to use it without the original CD.

The disclaimer: views & opinions are those of the show's hosts only.

A caller says that, while trying to get a wi-fi connection, 'view available networks' shows a free public wi-fi even when there isn't one.
– It's a bug.
– Got into preferences and delete it — 'view available networks' -> 'advanced settings'.
– While there, delete everything else you're not using.

A caller has an old Mac (eMac) and wants to reinstall the OS. He wants to know the best way to do it.
– If it's faster than 800MHz then install the Leopard OS.
– Since the caller's machine is 800MHz, version 10.4 may be better
– You should be able to get 10.4 on eBay
– Put the CD into the machine, restart and hold down the C key. You'll be prompted and everything is done for you.

The Palm Pre is mentioned. It uses the Sprint network and tethering is not allowed.

A caller with a Mac Power Book GS17 has Panasonic multifunction machine (fax/copier/printer) with a parallel port. How can he use them together.
– There is what's called a Centronics to USB cable to make the connection.
– There are 2 types of the cable. Make sure it's Mac compatible.
– He probably won't be able to scan; only print.
– Consider getting a replacement, but look at the cost of the consumables.

A caller is interested in the Roku unit mentioned above and wants to know if it can be used with an Aircard.
– It won't circumvent a bandwidth cap imposed by your provider, unlike a DSL or a cable connection.
– Use Netflix DVD's.
– Check out movies from your library.

Additional notes

Editor's comments delimited by < >

Google is coming out with Wave which, among other things, will combine instant messaging & email. More info is at wave.google.com .

How do you know if your spam filter is doing its job?
Send the following text — http://spamassassin.apache.org/gtube/ — to yourself and your spam filter (using Bayesian filtering) should flag it as spam.
If you go to that web page, you'll find a similar test for your anti-virus program.

Paul has a client who uses Outlook. Outlook attaches a file called winmail.dat that a recipient's Outlook program knows what to do with. Those not using Outlook will just see the attachment and not know what it means.
– Ask the sender to turn off message formatting e.g. RTF (Rich Text Format).
– Google 'winmail.dat defeat' or 'disable winmail.dat' for more info. <Disclaimer: use any software you find at your own risk>

There is a Mac version of Outlook called Entourage but it doesn't know how to handle winmail.dat.

You don't have to use the email portion of Outlook but that limits functionality like Outlook users mailing meeting appointments to each other.

If you install Thunderbird for your email it asks if you want to import Outlook stuff. Installing Thunderbird on a Mac with Entourage doesn't give you that choice, but see the above instructions, which are also echoed here.
More about exporting Entourage data in the show notes of 23Mar09.

The disclaimer: views & opinions are those of the show's hosts only.

A caller says he bought a HP media center computer but when he had problems with it, he received a loaner computer that had Vista instead of XP. He wants to know how to transfer the image of his original hard drive to the loaner.
– This may not be possible because the loaner machine has different hardware components that don't match the original computer.
– Using Maxtor OneTouch you may be able to install the OneTouch software and selectively restore just your data without restoring all of the XP operating system.
– Complain to your retailer that you were not given a comparable replacement computer.

The same caller wants to know how to digitally store the messages from his answering machine.
– Connect a microphone to your computer and hold it up to the answering machine.
– Use an ADA device. That's what's used by people who are hard of hearing and provides a line out which can then be connected to the line in of your sound card. Also known as ALS (Assistive Listening Systems)
– Use a Voice Over IP (VOIP) service, like Vonage.com, Lingo.com or Broadvoice.com, which normally store in digital format.

Brenda Horton is introduced. She owns and does the marketing at Hware, which develops and sells business tools (software). You may sign up to beta test some new software at Hware.com. Other shows featuring Brenda here and here.

Brenda talks about social media, which is different from email in that it's instant. It allows one to form personal and business relationships efficiently. It's like broadcasting to a network of people and unlike email, a response is not expected. Examples are Facebook.com, Myspace.com, Twitter.com.

On Facebook you can set up a profile page and a fan page. Search engines "love a fan page" and this is what's recommended for business use.
Scout out where your likely clients hang out and build your social network there.

Though some people do business on Twitter, mostly it's for informal socializing and building your network.

6 tips of what to do after you sign up on a social network site:
1) At first just hang out and get used to what the service is like. Don't push your product.
2) Be a helpful "solution provider" to build trust.
3) Provide some free, valuable or amusing content like 'will it blend', Such content may go viral, thereby reach many people.
4) Then you're ready to offer your product message.
5) Let go of control of your message. Let the online community decide what they like or dislike about your product and use that feedback to improve the product.
6) Use search engine optimization strategies like starting a blog so search engines can find you.

Also mentioned are the sites fixya.com and knol.google.com where questions are asked and when solutions are offered, the community rates them.

A caller bought a camera and a thumb drive to store the pics. He doesn't have a computer and wants to know how to get the pics onto the thumb drive.
– A library may allow you to hook up your equipment to their machines
– Buy another card <presumably of the type that came with the camera> rather than using a thumb drive.
– Buy a portable hard drive. There used to be one where you can plug a flash card into directly.
– Ask a friend to use their computer or go to a cafe that rents computer time.

Wolfram Alpha is a knowledge based search engine that's supposed to make sense to syntactic queries. <Its focus is on extracting answers from data sets. Visit the website for more info. Also, it supposedly has Mathematica running in the background so it is possible to use Wolfram Alpha as a CAS (Computer Algebra System).>

Additional notes

Editor's comments delimited by < > 

Startpanic.com (see above link) uses design flaws in javascript to reveal what's in your cache and allows a website to see where you've been on the web. Startpanic is supposed to be a demonstration, not an actual fraud site.

Laptops can typically drive any external display. Results can vary, as some don't support the higher resolutions, which can be true for the netbook class of machines.
Also current displays are tending to the 16:9 (width to height) aspect ratio. Older displays have a 4:3 ratio.
Intel makes the Atom CPU for the netbooks, which is fine for web browsing but is not powerful enough for video games.

Early rechareable batteries were nickel/cadmium type and would become limited in the amount of charge they could hold if you kept topping them off. The above link gives more details.
Warranty for the battery is sometimes different than for the computer itself.
It's best to keep the battery at 80% charge and as cold as possible without freezing.

The battery in the laptop acts like a UPS to prevent loss of data when the power goes out. So it's not necessarily a good idea to keep the battery stored in the refrigerator when you're using power from the wall socket.
The views expressed are those of the speakers only.

A caller has an iMac and feels sick after playing Scrabble for a while.
– Take periodic breaks
– If using a CRT type monitor, try increasing the video refresh rate so the screen won't flicker.
– Try changes the color scheme of the game, if possible.
– Discuss this with your eye doctor.

There is an English survey (see above link) about how the radio spectrum is being used. Some devices, like baby alarms, may be imported from foreign countries and use that part of the spectrum that's also used by Wi-fi. The Wi-fi receivers may not discriminate well enough and experience interference. If you suspect as much, you can try using software from netstumbler.com.

Glenn reminds people to do their backups.
Be careful when the word "recovery" is used. Doing a recovery may put your computer into the state it was in when you first bought it and you may lose all of your data. Get professional help if you have to when you get the message that your operating isn't working.

On a Mac with at least a 800mHz CPU, get the Leopard operating system (10.5) and use TimeMachine, which comes with it, for your backups.
For both the Mac & PC you can also get the Maxtor OneTouch drive.

A caller wonders if he can use the iPhone with a T-Mobile card <presumably he means the SIM card>
– Yes, but it has to be both unlocked & jailbroken <mentioned in this previous show>.
– Unlocking them may (or not) be illegal. Be aware of this risk. The views expressed are those of the speakers only.
– Used or refurbished iPhones are likely to be unlocked & jailbroken.
– Go to zen.kvmr.org and put "iPhone" in the search window to find other shows that talked about unlocking & jailbreaking..
– macpwn & winpwn is software to unlock the iPhone.

A caller asks for pointers on learning to start a business.
– This is the worst time because of so many scams.
– For what ever product you want to promote, look for the opposite of what you believe in to get a broader perspective of what others think.
– Be pragmatic & educate yourself. Be aware of others trying to talk you into something.

A caller keeps hearing a "zapping" sound on her radio.
– There's likely to be a cell phone in the vicinity
– On the front page of KVMR there's a link to info about getting better reception and dealing with interference.

A caller has a Mac (OS9) & external hard drive he uses for back up. He just got a new Macbook and wants to use the same external hard drive for its backups.
– The external drive has to be formatted as HMS+ to be able to use TimeMachine that came with the Macbook.
– If you have to reformat the drive (using OS10) there is a check box which allows it to install drivers so an OS9 machine can use it.

The same caller tried to repair permissions and was told some files could not be repaired.
– There are third party utilities that are more thorough than what came with the Mac OS.
– Use the original OS disks to boot from then try the repair.
– If Apple says don't worry about it, then don't.
– <More about the Mac & disk permissions here.and here>

Thumb drives lying around in a parking lot of a business may have malware on them. A form of social engineering, it plays on a person's tendency to put one into their computer.