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Tech News & Commentary
Carl in Montgomery, Alabama asked: “I was hoping Microsoft would just scrub windows 8. Now, I have no clue how to operate Windows 8; so I would like to know how do I get rid of Windows 8 & install Windows 7”
Depending on your copy of Windows 8, Microsoft may give you the option to use it’s license key as a valid Windows 7 license key, if that’s the case for you, you need to get a hold of a Windows 7 installation disk and when you’re prompted for a key, use your Windows 8 product key.
If your copy is not eligible for that downgrade, or upgrade (depending on who you ask), your only legal option is to purchase a copy of Windows 7 and use that license key to install it.
In both situations the procedure is the same, you basically get the disc in your optical drive, restart the computer and boot from that optical drive (which it will likely do on it’s own, if it does not, you may need to go into your BIOS settings and tell it to from there). Once it boots from that drive it should take you through the Windows 7 installation step by step.
Remember to always back up whatever files you don’t want to lose, the downgrade will most likely wipe your drive clean as part of the installation process.
You may want to hang in there for a while, however. We have it on good authority that Windows 8.1 will offer an option that lets you boot right to the “Desktop” interface, giving you a more familiar Windows environment. Windows 8 is like death and taxes. It’s inevitable. You might be able to downgrade to Windows 7 now, but you just can’t stay there long term.
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
“This Week in Tech History” Weekly Feature with Chris Graveline
Jack in New York listens via TuneIn Radio sends the following email: “I am having trouble copying from one Hard drive to another. I have an Archos 60GB where all my files are; so I plug the Archos to my Laptop. After that I plug in another Hard drive and copy all the files from the Archos to the Hard drive. Then after about 5 minutes it just stops copying; there’s no error, it just stops like it ended. I’ve tried copying the files from the Archos to the Laptop & that doesn’t work either. I think it’s timing out. So my question is how can I get those files & pics out if my Archos and into another Hard drive?”
It’s tough to say what could be happening if you’re not getting an error message, there may be something wrong with the drive, in which case it would be a great idea to actually get those files off the drive one way or another.
Some of the people we’ve found who have reported that error, have had success with using a Linux Live CD to move the files.
If you don’t want to try that, you can check that there are no Windows permissions issues. Windows should warn you that you don’t have the right credentials to move the files but, just in case, you can check the folder’s properties and make sure that your user is allowed to copy the files.
You could also try to move the files a little at a time rather than moving the whole folder all at once, just in case that it’s a size issue though, again, Windows would probably warn you.
Whatever is going on, just in case try to get those files off the drive soon. If it’s dying you don’t want to lose them.
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Andee sends the following email: “A lot of apps I download from Mobile1 app store and Google Play come up with the message “There is a problem parsing the package”. Why does this happen? Can anything be done about this? Most apps download and install with no problem. I have a Skytex Imagine 7 4.1 Jellybean. Also need help with flash as it was pulled from the market by Adobe. I’ve tried all of the flash browsers and even tried to follow instructions that say to download the H D version of Dolphin and then install Adobe flash, either I’m not doing it right.”
Usually when this happens it’s either because there’s something wrong with the package itself, that is to say that the file you’re downloading is corrupt in some way, or because there’s something wrong with the download link.
Here’s the problem with those theories: you’re downloading straight from Google Play, so the integrity of the package would’ve been checked when it was uploaded and it’s very unlikely that there would be a problem with the link, at least for long before it was fixed.
Still, if you can install other apps from Google Play, odds are there is a problem with that particular one and you may have to try again once it’s fixed. If you’re going through Google Play, the problem is almost certainly not on your end, and you almost certainly won’t be able to fix it yourself.
As for Flash, Adobe didn’t just pull Flash from Google Play, but discontinued it completely, you will probably find browsers that will attempt to play Flash videos from popular sites by converting them to a compatible format on their own server and redirecting you there, but real Flash support is pretty much gone.
Now, Flash support being gone hasn’t made every single content provider suddenly switch of HTML5 though, so if you use sites that still use Flash, you can always sideload the last copy Adobe released.
It may not work for long, since it’s not getting updated and your phone is but, for now, if you find it online you should be able to sideload it onto your phone.
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Nathan in Harrington, Delaware sends the following email: “Calling about the guy who had a question about which DVR to get, specifically one with good streaming functions. The answer to his question would be Play Later TV. It allows you record Shows and movies from networks and streaming programs like netflix and Hulu.”
Thank you, Nathan. We always love it when listeners help other listeners!
Play Later bills itself as “The World’s First DVR for Online Videos.” They let you record your favorite Hulu shows and Netflix movies and watch them anywhere, anytime on your PC, iPad, iPhone or Android device. They have a few pricing plans to choose from. Their annual plan is about $20 a year, a lifetime subscription for about $40, or for $60 you can get a lifetime subscription with the ability to stream the recorded shows to your TV.
You may need to download a separate free app to play the videos on your mobile device, and some premium services require an additional subscription, like Hulu Plus, Netflix and HBO Go.
We have not tried it, but it looks like a cool service. If it’s worth the money to you, it really looks like an easy way to record and watch online video from anywhere.
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Robert Scoble, Startup Liaison Officer – Rackspace
Steve in Edwards, Mississippi listening on Supertalk FM asked: “I’m totally blind and I was trying to find the best smartphone for the visually impaired.”
There are a lot of phones out there that are usable by a person with limited or no vision. Pretty much every phone has to have some accessibility features. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires cell phones and phone services to be designed for people with disabilities. However, according to the American Foundation for the Blind, far too many cell phone carriers aren’t taking that obligation too seriously.
We can tell you about some of the features of phones that seem to make it easier for the visually impaired community to use them. As you can imagine, touch screen phones can be difficult to use if you can’t see what’s on the screen. Several phones, like the iPhone have a feature that will read the contents of the screen to you as you touch it so you know what you are selecting.
We have a large part of our audience who is visually impaired, so maybe someone listening has had luck with one phone or another. We’ll ask our listeners. What have you used? What can you recommend to Steve? Call us at 1-800-899-4686 and help him out.
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Larry in Prince Edward Island, Canada listening Online asked: “I’ve got about $500 that I’m looking to spend on a computer – either a laptop or a tablet. My present laptop is a little old and is running sluggish. Could you give me two or three items that you would purchase if you were in my shoes?”
For your price range, you’re pretty covered in terms of tablets. You should be able to look at the least expensive ones like the Kindle Fire HD and the Nook HD, but you’ll also have the base models of more expensive ones available to you.
Since all of the iPad models have some version in your budget, you may want to consider them. They’re solid tablets, their owners love them and they’re still currently the most successful tablets out there.
On the Android side, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 is within your budget as well and you may like it if you want widgets on a big screen.
As far as laptops go, you can find the Lenovo IdeaPad S405 online for about what you want to spend and get a very lightweight laptop with Windows 8, 4GB of RAM a 14” screen and a 500GB hard drive. You can find similar models by ASUS and Acer with slightly bigger screens.
$500 laptops will be on the low end, while $500 tablets will be on the high end. But even low end laptops will do more than high end tablets, so if you don’t have any other computer and you need to do more than email, web browsing and some basic games, a laptop may serve you better.
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Audiofly: AF33 in-ear headphones
Covington Creations: Earbud yo-yo — Now with Dave’s face on them! — A clever solution to tangled earbuds.
iolo: Copies of: Drive Scrubber – Erase data so it can NEVER be recovered.
Touchfire: iPad Keyboards – The world’s thinnest, lightest iPad keyboard.