Glenn's co-host today is Adam of Smarter Broadband, a wireless provider in the foothills
smarterbroadband.com
Adam@smarterbroadband.com

A caller has the illustration program Freehand that doesn't run on newer Macs.
He wants to know how to run Mac emulator on Windows side of the Mac to emulate an old Mac OS in order to run Freehand.
emulators.com
macwindows.com
Try the program called Basilisk
sheepshaver Mac emulator, made obsolete by Basilisk

A caller received an email from herself that she didn't send.
"From:" header can easily be faked,
If others in your address book also got the email, then someone may be using your account.

A caller has problem burning music from local files.
Try replacing the CD/DVD burner possibly with an external one or just adding a second drive.
Check if you currently have an IDE or SATA drive to know which type to buy.
If adding a second drive internally you may need to set one to master & the other to slave.

Caller with AVG anti-virus keeps getting an error message on boot up telling her to restart the machine.
Keep your machine updated. Run Internet Explorer, under tools, click Windows Update.
Click on the AVG icon in the taskbar and see if any items need updating.

A Mac user wants to know how to record radio shows.
Garage Band comes with most newer Macs.
Wiretap Pro is inexpensive and v1.3.2 is available as a demo at download.com
Some stations have archives of shows; look around on their sites.

Caller wants to know how to tell if the audio coming from the computer analog or digital?
Sound cards have analog outputs but different brands have different quality.
Some sound cards also have digital outputs.
RCA or 1/8" miniplugs are almost always analog.
If you use the 1/8" miniplug as output to your stereo be sure to turn down the volume on the computer.

A caller has a problem with occasional noise while playing a DVD on Acer laptop.
Put the DVD into the holder carefully.
The drive may be bad.
Run a cleaning disk thru it.
Other programs may be using up cpu cycles; shut them down.
Try different player software.
Reinstall the CODEC and/or the player software.

Glenn spotted a clone of an iphone at $112 to $175, coming soon.

WiFi speed can be affected by signal strength because packets may be dropped if the signal is weak.
A better wifi card may improve reception.
An antenna extension may be available for your unit.

The Eeepc was mentioned on other shows. Please use search feature to find.
2gig version can be had for $369
4gigs for $499
Costco is selling one in pink for $399
User forums:
http://forum.eeeuser.com/

Jeffrey Heins (today's co-host) recommends Ubuntu if you want to try Linux; wait for April update, it runs on Windows NTFS hard drives.
Check for drivers for your hardware when you pick a flavor of Linux
Many of the flavors have the live CD feature where the Linux will boot directly from the CD, bypassing Windows, allowing you to try it before installing.

Service pack 1 for Vista may not make significant improvements. Some articles here:
www.newsfactor.com/search.xhtml?query='Vista'

Kindle, an ebook reader from Amazon, uses wireless (cell phone network, provide in the cost) to download ebooks, newspapers, etc.
www.amazon.com/kindle
Uses electronic ink technology for a paper-like display:
eink.com

Google wants to use unused tv bands to provide wireless connections.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-google-fcc.html

Caller with an iPod wants to exclude songs from a shuffle list but the iPod insists on including them.
Suggestion is to update the firmware.
Get more tips in the ipod forum at:
discussions.apple.com

How the date of Easter is determined and ecclesiastical full moon vs. astronomical Full Moon:
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/easter.php
The algorithm used to calculate Easter:
http://utopia.knoware.nl/users/eprebel/Calendar/Tables/index.html
Even more here; with a computer program in BASIC (see, it is related to computers):
www.assa.org.au/edm.html

Earth's rotation varies over time. Link to International Earth Rotation Service:
www.iers.org/

AT&T DSL price increased by $5/mo, check your phone bills.
Speed problems with DSL are not usually due to lack of bandwidth on your end. Buying extra bandwidth my not necessarily improve your experience.

You may have problems if you're using an SMTP (outbound mail) domain other than SBCglobal/Yahoo/Pacbell, when using AT&T DSL.
Either use an SMTP server different from that provided by AT&T or go to att.yahoo.com, log into your account and use the settings to register the domain you want to use for mail.

Google will host your mail domain, in google apps, for free.
www.google.com/apps

A caller asks about using a laptop (connected to the internet) to send/receive data/messages on a cell phone.
With bluetooth connecting the laptop & phone you'll get about 9600 baud transfer rate.
Using bluetooth to transfer files from the phone to a computer (no internet involved) it's about 115k baud
Using a laptop to get on the internet thru a cell phone via bluetooth you may get charged extra for data transfers.
For $70/mo you can get a special USB device (for your computer) that will use the cell phone network for internet connections.
You may be able to get EDGE, at $30/mo, for your phone so you can use the phone to connect the computer to the internet.
Some info about EDGE, EVDO, HSUPA, etc:

For those thinking of getting a Blackberry, check to see how well it can sych up with your other devices.

Mozilla Sunbird is comparable to Mac's ical calendar/scheduling program.
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird/download.html

Jeffrey Hein runs an IT consulting business that integrates technology into your business.
Phone 530-274-2037
http://www.jphein.com/

Amazon Kindle reading device! 

Play Other Region DVDs.
WARNING: All is at your Own Risk!

most domestic DVD players can be disarmed
so they will play legitimate DVDs that come from other regions
by setting the player  Region Code to "0".

The USA is "Region 1" but Europe is "Region 2"  etv,
so disks will not play out of region.
technical blurb you can ignore is here
http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#1.10 

and how to actually do it is here: 

http://www.dvddemystifiziert.de/codefree_en/codefree.html

Note this is nothing to do with cracking the disk
copy protection either… It is for playing the disk outside the region it was sold in
which is normally barred with  message:
"Wrong Region"

IE,
Legitimate DVDs from the USA and play them in the UK
and vice versa.

a quirk in law says that it is forbidden to resell DVDs in for example the UK that were made in the USA as they have not been through the British Board of Film Ratings,

BUT you CAN buy them abroad AND you can even unlock the players like
this. Gray Area: Can you sell unlocked players? Who Knows?

Now to watch those nice BBC DVDs I got for Christmas
in the UK here in the USA their original form!

 Glenn has the Blackberry Curve pda & phone. It has a QWERTY keyboard
www.blackberrycurve.com
Palm Centro is its competitor
palmone.com

A caller has problem connecting his LG cell phone with his Toyota Prius using Bluetooth.
A firmware update from Verizon is suggested by dialing *228.
Bluetooth sometimes has trouble connecting to more than one device at a time.

For posting pictures to the web or emailing them you may need to resize or change resolution. The following software can help you do that.
microsoft image resizer from the Powertoys package for Windows XP:
You can also use…
Paint Shop Pro is now a Corel product but earlier free versions can be found.
I got mine here:
Learn more about Paint Shop at these sites:
tcc-pub.com/workshop/205/psp.htm
www.youthpastor.com/2000/index.cfm/A/2Kpsp.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paint_Shop_Pro
and…
resize2mail does the resizing online, no software to download.
www.resize2mail.com/advanced.php

For capturing video from the web (like from YouTube) to a local file
"video saver" for Firefox. If it isn't this, then I dunno, sorry.
addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/2390

Finding files by size. View directory statistics:
windirstat.sourceforge.net

Using .rar compression & other compression schemes (.zip; .rar; cdrom images).
izarc.org
To learn more about .rar files:
rarlab.com
After you install izarc, right click on the file you want to uncompress, then click on izarc. It can concatenate very long files as it uncompresses.

Episodes of old tv shows are at this AOL site. But it may currently be having problems, as a caller experienced.
in2tv.com

Digitize your cassettes and LPs
http://www.macworld.com/article/131449/2008/01/feb08playlist.html?lsrc=mwweek

Slammed?!

Phone Troubleshooting – How to verify your regional, long distance carrier or home telephone number
The following numbers are to an automated service and the numbers are toll free.

Identify your Regional Carrier 700-4141
Identify your Long Distance Carrier 700-555-4141
Identify your Telephone Number 511
 

Jeffrey Hein; linux expert; runs local business, cohosted this show.
www.jphein.com

Paul mentions a virus that comes from a digital picture frames.
Music stores can possibly transfer a virus to your Ipod if you plug it in at the store to obtain music samples.
Some newer digital cameras can now insure that nobody is blinking and everyone is smiling.
UK is ahead in the number of cell phone networks. Their T-mobile can be used to access the internet via a USB dongle for about $10 or $20 a month of 1gig/month of traffic & 3.5 megabits/sec.

More info about the digital tv switch-over in Feb of 2009 at dtvanswers.com
You can now apply for up to two $40 coupons for a converter box.

A couple of XP shortcuts:
Windowskey + U goes to accessibility screen with the text to speech voice speaking
Windowskey + L locks the computer & waits for you to login again

There are options of connecting to the internet using the cell phone networks using the Edge system at about 128k baud or the GSM system at 9600 baud. AT&T has a USB dongle (at about $79) where you plug in your SIM card. Verizon has a similar service.

sonic.net uses spare channels of UHF TV to connect to the internet.

Go to att.com to check if DSL is available in your area.

Special needs people who'd like to buy a Mac and want to avoid the inherently higher prices of Mac computer should be aware that older Macs can be adequate for web surfing. Check ebay.com & craigslist.com

Keep an eye on your phone bills. Slamming is prevalent and it can be hard to find out what you're being charged for. See the toll-free numbers at the top to get more info about your phone service provider.

You don't need to have long distance carrier. A good option is not have the long distance & just use a calling card. Also, if you make less than $20,000/yr there is the Lifeline service that costs much less.

Alternate long distance provider onesuite.com uses a pin to get access.

Internet Explorer 7 may have trouble running on earlier PC's with only 256k or less RAM. If you uninstall IE7, you will be taken back to IE6. Right click on My Computer & left click on properties to find out how much RAM you have.

jkdefrag is a great "no install" defragmenter includes a screen saver. It reclaims unused space on the hard drive due to adding & deleting files of different sizes over time. Get it at: www.kessels.com/JkDefrag/

It's possible for a Mac to pass on a virus to a PC via mail. Be careful about forwarding unknown mail. For anti-virus info & programs see…

Norton anti-virus for Mac:
www.symantec.com/norton/products/overview.jsp?pcid=ma&pvid=nav11mac

search forum.techguy.org for discussions of anti-virus software. Select "Apple Macintosh" on the search list.

You might get a listing like:
forums.techguy.org/search.php?searchid=944533

And see this particular thread:
forums.techguy.org/apple-macintosh/295382-free-antivirus-download-mac-osx.html

Also, clamxav.com has a free anti-virus for the Mac

Anti-virus for XP & other useful programs, see the list at the end of:
zen.kvmr.org/content/view/54/11/

Those interested an a foothill Linux advocacy group email to:
zen – at – kvmr – dot – org

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux  

- Open Source Software.
The advantages of Open Source Software are many.  Here are a few that stand out to me.

• Free (It really is completely free)
• Supports Local Professionals
• When you use commercial software you really only have one choice when looking for support.  The company you bought the software from. With Open Source Software, because the code base is open anyone can become an expert.
• Runs on Inexpensive Hardware
• When Open Source Software is updated you rarely have to buy a new computer to support it.
• Will run on old or small computers.
• Will run on more durable computers that will save on replacement and support.
• Better for the Enviroment
• Because the resource reqiurements are less for Linux you don't have to throw your old computer away.
• You can use more efficient hardware that uses less electricity and creates less heat and sound.

- Intenet Applications.
- Thin Client Technology.

BLOG section: Thanks Bill for sending in these notes:

Hi Paul-

I've been using Linux almost exclusively since 1996-7 or so...
installing many 'flavors' of Linux on a wide variety of computers. 

In the last few years we've seen the 'Live CD,' with which it's
possible to try out or test the particular distribution, without
actually installing it to the hard disk.

What I've noticed most recently is that some of the distributions
won't run on some computers -- for a reason that is unknown to me.

For instance, Ubuntu, (Kubuntu really, with the KDE desktop
environment), runs beautifully on some computers (my new Acer
laptop, for example), where everything just works, flawlessly, and
the system is kept up-to-date with the simple commands 'apt-get
update' and 'apt-get upgrade' -- accessing the Debian based
repositories.

But Ubuntu will NOT run or install on my main server or backup server.
As I said, I'm not a newbie at this... My main server is brand new
Athlon 64 with 2GB memory; the backup server is about 3 yr old HP with
385MB ram and 1.5 GHz Intel chip.

However both servers both ran and easily installed the open SuSE
distribution (and, puzzlingly, Knoppix. I say puzzlingly because
Knoppix, like Ubuntu, is also a Debian-based distribution).

The upshot of my recent experiences is, if listeners are interested in
trying out Linux, to test a Live CD, and if that won't run to try
another flavor. Life's too short to try to install a distribution that
won't run from CD -- at least unless you know the problem, such as not
enough memory. If it's simply a memory problem, you may be able to
install and run the system successfully on less memory than it takes
to run the Live CD. But even the purchase of a new memory chip is
almost certainly cheaper than a new computer...

Hope these comments will be helpful.

-Bill

One of the most compatible Linux distribution I have found is Puppy Linux www.puppylinux.org .
This distribution also has amazingly low system requirements  and can run off of a USB thumb drive, CD or hard drive.   It is geared toward a standard desktop enviroment.

 I also wanted to mention PCLinux OS www.pclinuxos.com .  I have personally never used it, but is one of the most popular for new Linux users. 

-Jeffrey