HOUR 2:
Tech News & Commentary
Alberta in Nashville, TN listening on WTN asked us: “When I upgraded from Vista to Windows 7, I no longer can figure out how to get junk mail to go into the “junk” folder. Do you have a solution for the inundation of junk email into my inbox on Windows 7?”
You probably did what you have to do already, this one is Microsoft’s fault.
Some users are reporting that 7’s new Windows Live Mail will not use their email filters after they set them up, your “junk” folder is nothing but a built-in email filter.
There’s no official solution yet, though word from Microsoft is that they’re working on it, but there is a workaround that has helped a lot of users, and it’s simple enough that it’s worth a try.
After you set up your junk settings just how you want them open the Control Panel, then go to “Programs and Features” and find “Windows Live Essentials 2011”, when you find it right click it and go to “Uninstall/Change”.
Do not uninstall it, but click on “Repair All Windows Live Programs”, wait for the repairs to finish, you will probably be asked to restart, after the restart your filters should work again.
Again, this is not an official solution from Microsoft so it may not work for everyone, but it does solve the problem for many people and it might spare you the inconvenience of having to wait for an official update from Microsoft.
One other thing to consider is switching to a different email program. Windows Live Mail, while included free with Windows 7, is not the only choice you have. We recommend Thunderbird, an open source, free email client from the Mozilla Foundation (the same folks who brought you Firefox). It can be downloaded free from MozillaMessaging.com.
Tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast for more details.
Chris in Miami Beach, FL listening via the Android App and the podcast asked: “Do you have a recommendation on a good video editing software that can remove handheld camera shake? Thanks! Love the show.”
There are a couple ways you can go. First, if you are already using professional video editing software such as Adobe Premiere, Apple Final Cut Pro, or Sony Vegas, then you’d likely want to invest in the Mercalli filter from proDAD. Depending on which flavor you want, it ranges in price from $149 to $249 dollars. Remember it’s a plug-in, so you have to already have one of the programs it is compatible with.
If, on the other hand, you’re fairly tech savvy and you’d like to give this a whirl using some free software, you could try the freeware video editing program VirtualDub and the free plug-in Deshake. Both the professional and freeware solutions will go a long way to removing the bobbing and weaving from your videos.
For our Mac users, iMovie has a video stabilization feature. Under “Clip Adjustments”, Select “Stabilization – Smooth Clip Motion”. It will take a few minutes, but the results are usually good. Lately, I’ve been doing that with most of the videos I shoot on my iPhone 4. So far, I’m pretty happy with the results.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
“This Week in Tech History” Weekly Feature with Chris Graveline
Group discussion: 3D or NOT 3D … That is the question?
We saw a lot of cool 3D products at CES, but America does not seem interested. Europe and Asia are so far ahead of us. Will America be 3rd World 3D Country?
Mike in Raleigh, NC called in to help other listeners and talked about AT&T Navigon GPS for the blind and other iPhone features that are good for blind people.
We also recommended Navigon as well as “Sendero Look Around” and “Skobbler” as alternative GPS solutions for the blind.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Guests in this hour:
• Bob Meighan, VP & CPA with TurboTax – Intuit, VP & CPA – TurboTax
Tax Season is upon us! Do you prepare and file your own income tax with DIY software like TurboTax?
John in Durham, NC asked: “I bought a Verizon Octane from Costco since Verizon has more towers. I have 30 days to return it. I want to know if there is a better phone for the money since I only need it for calls and emails. I have my mother on my plan also. Two years is a long time for me since I am retired. I like your show a lot. I hope you can help me.”
The LG Octane is what Verizon calls a “Feature phone,” meaning that it’s not a smartphone running an operating system like Android, but rather it’s a phone where the software is supplied in the phone’s ROM. It can do whatever it can do out of the box, and you can’t do anything more with it unless Verizon and LG update the firmware.
For people who don’t require a lot from their phones, these can often represent an excellent value. To answer your question about the Octane, many users have complained of an echo on voice calls. Some say you can turn off the “voice clarity” feature to eliminate it, others say a firmware update cleared it up, and the rest of the owners are divided into the “nothing fixed it” and “it never happened to me” groups.
The only similar Feature phone is another LG model, the Cosmos. It’s less expensive, with a lower resolution camera, but aside from that it is a very similar phone.
While we’re all big fans of our app-monster smartphones here, if you’re going to roll with Verizon and stick with Feature phones, the LG Octane is pretty much their top of the line model in that category.
Tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast for more details.
“Into Tomorrow” Product Spotlight with Rob Almanza: Computer Mice – Swiftpoint Mouse & Smartfish Whirl Mini or on Rob’s face for details
Are you ready to upgrade your mouse? There are some neat innovations in the computer mice world and our correspondent Rob Almanza has two that you might want to try. Products mentioned: Swiftpoint Mouse & Smartfish Whirl Mini.
Mike in Tennessee listens on WTN 99.7 FM and asked: “I heard y’all talking about a small radio that cost in the neighborhood of $156. I copied the website as ccradio.com, but that is not right. Could you give me the info?”
That is the correct web site. CCRadio.com forwards to CCrane.com, the company that makes that radio. We had Bob Crane of C.Crane on the show at CES – the Consumer Electronics Show and they make & carry many good radios, including: AM/FM, Shortwave, WiFi Internet, HD Radios and a ton of accessories too. He brought a brand new one in particular to our Broadcast Booth called CC Gozo but it’s not out yet. It’s small radio with powerful sound.
Tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast for more details.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Radio Shack: Several Weather Alert Clock Radios with SkyWarn
RCA: Several travel chargers with surge protection
Honestech: Copies of Audio Recorder 2.0 Deluxe – Software to convert your analog music into digital formats including MP3s and audio CDs. Save those great musical memories.