A power meter that takes the power factor into account & computes usage in dollars.
Kill-A-Watt EZ model from p3international.com $40

Vista service pack 1. Get it only from Microsoft to avoid earlier pre-release versions.
kb936330
kb935791

Some drivers for Hewlett Packard multi-function machines won't install on a Vista PC.

XP service pack 3 is also available. Those with an HP computer and an AMD processor check with HP before installing. Original article here. And there may be even more porblems .

How to get a telephone number without a landline when all you have is wireless internet.
Use cordless VOIP telephone. Looks like a cell phone but connects to the wireless router you have "permission" to use. Skype phone is one type but requires computer, Vonage doesn't. Search with Google using "cordless viop sets".

Refurbished Toshiba with AMD Athlon 64×2 dual core processor tk55; 1gig RAM; 120gig hard drive; DVD burner; 15" wide screen; 802.11b & g wireless, 4 usb, 1 firewire, ethernet; S-video. From Fry's in Roseville.

$10 DSL from AT&T for new customers. Includes a rebate on the modem, but be alert for a coupon which comes later in the mail.

At google.com click on igoogle (upper right). Create a personalized page to customize your experience, using only cookies.

Norton Ghost from Symantic; does drive cloning; track-by-track duplication of your hard drive.
G4L does similar stuff but is free.
also, Drive Image Pro

Be careful when entering the URL of a website. www.xxx.com may take you to a different place than xxx.com, possibly a site designed to steal your personal information. Misspellings pose the same threat.

Someone's found a way around Verisign high security certificates for Paypal. Be sure to enter the correct URL in the address bar.

A caller asked about an alternative to dial-up internet connections where there's no DSL:
Satellite services, are expensive, and secure connections over a satellite link may be slow.
In the foothills there's terrestrial wireless like Smarter Broadband.
Accelerators for dial-up connections. May not help much with secure connections. They generally only work with loading web pages at a 10%-20% increase (personally, I got 100% or more increase). But be sure the accelerator software you download comes from a trusted source.
Broadband over cell phone networks. More from a previous show's notes here
If you have cable TV, that provider may also offer internet.

On a Mac you can usually copy a backed up version of an application to a different Mac. Just drop it into the Application folder. You may be asked to reenter the key to verify ownership. Things aren't that simple in Windows.

Caller wants to choose a hardware interface that will be supported the longest. Of the two choices PCI may be around longer than PCMCIA.

Hello All: Paul Castro Back with Glenn in the Studio! THANKS to Alex for publishing show notes and to Adam Brodel http://smarterbroadband.com/ for being here last time.

THANKS to Mila fresh from the Broadcaster Class who helped out and fit right in with answering calls and had esoteric knowledge about software version numbers and program quirks.

Final Vista Service Pack 1 Release Mid April 2008; Use Google to Look up : KB936330
Reason: Microsoft uses such funky tranansient URLs that I cannot reliably insert them here!
Administrative Download (5+ Languages) is nearly 500MB but it appears to WORK after many false & buggy starts. A Very funny 'christmas tree icon flash' Bug after restart!!

Naughty APPLE is foisting Safari for Windows onto us as an 'Update' via the iTunes Update Facility.
I love iTunes, I don't mind Safari but I hate their arrogance.  If you ever wondered how a boat load of garbage ends up on your PC that makes it unuseable after a year or less,
here's one way. Get Stuffed on THAT one Apple!

Other ways: everyone and his or herr sister shoving the Yahoo Toolbar onto you when you install 'free' stuff: This is the technical equivalent to me of NOT labelling your foods and products honestly with their purpose.

http://www.p3international.com/products/  "Kill a Watt" Clever Energy Meters that tells you in a runnign total the Cost of Energy for particular devices in your home: Especially the "EZ" model.

No Good hiding the System Tray to pretent Too Many THings are running:
I typically have about five, that's all. Any More and soemthign is wrong!

Check out Amazon Web Services http://aws.amazon.com for truly virtualized web/app hosting!
Today, Peter Gabriels physical host was Stolen in the UK and his site went down It would not happen with this system!

Google: DOCS and iGoogle Just Got Better! Yea!

Hey look the free AVG Antivirus version 7.5 many of us use is starting
to nag us to buy upgrades to paid version 8.0 and warnign 7.5 will quit
operating at the end of may.
and why not.

If you DO buy,
be sure to ONLY get the Antivirus Product, not the Internet Security
suite which as many found, utterly busts Windows (more)

But you can continue to freeload
or even start using this Antivirus
product for the first time by going to:

http://free.grisoft.com

click throughout on the FREE version 8 DO NOT pick Upgrade otherwise it will NOT show oyu the Free one.
save & then Install..
It will detect version 7.5 and Remove it. That's Okay It will offer to
install Security Toolbar: Pick NO.
It will offer to schedule scans everyday. Pick NO It will want Rebooting
Then it will UPdate. or Make it Do so.
Back in Business.
This version has URL Phishing Checking
which is bound to have an impact on web browsing speeds.

TSA & DHS Take Laptops. NO Guidlines about use of data on way thorugh borders. More On Show.

32 bit CPU RAM Linit under 4GP LAE: The Limiti We THought We Would Never Reach

Glenn's EeePC Recoverd from Trip

Apple LogicPro 8 surprisingly low cost!

Mexican Mobile Phone Use in Baja by Paul

{mosimage}

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/