HOUR 3:
Tech News & Commentary
Jerry in Fort Irwin, California asked: “I would like to know why you have to upgrade your personal laptop system every couple of years? Is it something that the companies are conspiring so that consumers have to purchase new laptops and spend their hard earned cash, or is it that the systems are outdated?”
The technology that goes into these systems changes constantly. In order to keep up with all these changes, manufacturers update their systems all the time. We joke around that as soon as you walk out of the store with your new computer, it becomes obsolete. The funny thing is, by the time a new system makes it to the store shelves, they’re already working on the next model that will probably be faster, have a bigger hard drive, higher screen resolution and a lot more features.
And it’s not just with computers. That’s just the nature of the consumer electronics industry. The same goes with digital cameras, GPS Units, cell phones, and everything else that we talk about on this show. If these companies waited until “the best” came out, they’d never be able to release a product, because something better would be available as soon as it hits store shelves.
“Into
Gaming Update” Weekly Feature with Mark Lautenschlager
Shafe in Ashville, North Carolina listening on WWNC 570 AM asked: “Purchased an Alienware m11x and I’d like to switch my iTunes music from my iMac to the Alienware. Wondering what would be the best way to do that. Would also like to put it on my Droid using a program called double twist and I’m having a lot of trouble doing it.”
In order to transfer an iTunes library, there are a couple of things you need to do first. On your iMac, make sure you’ve selected the options “Keep iTunes Media folder organized” and “Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library” (you’ll want to set those same options on your Windows copy of iTunes, so don’t forget that).
On the iMac, pull down the “File” menu, look for the “Library” command, and under that choose “Organize Library.” This command will tell iTunes to copy any song files that had been added to your library but were not in the iTunes media folder and add them to that folder. Check the option that says “Consolidate Library” and then click “Ok”. If you’ve not already upgraded to the new Media folder structure, you can also set that check box and do it at the same time.
You’ll need a device large enough to store your iTunes library, whether that’s a thumb drive or an external hard drive depends on how much music you have. Connect the drive to your iMac and drag your iTunes media folder to it. This copies your entire library. Disconnect the hard drive (after ejecting it) and connect it to your Windows PC.
Now, on the Windows side, after first making sure that you’ve selected the two options we listed above, you have a choice of several methods, but perhaps the simplest one is to pull down the “File” menu and choose “Add folder to library.” Navigate to the iTunes Media folder on your external hard drive and choose “Select Folder.”
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Facebook message from Tom: “Ok boys, I have decided to challenge your brains. Here is my problem: I have a Seagate expansion 1TB drive that finally crashed on me. So far, I have not been able to re-format it, so i can use it again. I did manage to salvage most of my data from it before the crash. Is there a program that will be able to format it again so I can use it again, or has it gone the way of the T-rex?”
Seagate has a utility they call DiscWizard that can be used to format and partition any Seagate hard drive, internal or external. Visit Seagate’s Support Downloads Page, and you should be able to find the DiscWizard link on that page.
If DiscWizard won’t recognize the drive, then you have a hardware failure and you should contact Seagate for a warranty replacement of the drive, if it’s under warranty. If it’s NOT under warranty, then I’m afraid it’s time to buy a new hard drive. Let us know how things turn out!
Guest in this hour – Interview recorded at CEA Industry Forum in San Francisco, CA
Mitch Joel, President – Twist Image
Learn how useful social media can be to you personally and to your business. Mitch is a digital marketing and social media guru.
Ted sent us the following email and asked: “My son and I listen to your show every Saturday morning. My son is visually impaired to the point that he cannot see to read, and all of his input is auditory. He wants to expand his input through Internet radio. I am a little confused. It seems that just buying a WiFi radio is not all that is needed. We have high speed service through our cable company. The problem is that my son has limited gross and fine motor control of his limbs and he can tune in to a radio, but cannot get around on a computer. It seems I need a good WiFi radio and a way to connect it to a signal. Would that be a WiFi antenna that will send the signal from the Internet router to the radio, or do I need to also buy a special router? I have looked on the Internet and cannot find a source that clearly outlines how Internet radio works. It seems there are 3 different ways or systems, but I find no single product that will provide an all in one solution. I would appreciate suggested manufacture names. You are the go to guy for America when it comes to electronic gadgets.”
You mention that he has limited motor control of his limbs. You will need a radio that has a simple control interface. Our friends at the C. Crane Company make the CC WiFi Radio. Frankly, it’s very likely the best when it comes to changing stations and volumes with limited motor control, because it’s control system is based around a single large knob that controls both choosing and selecting a station, and then increasing the volume.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Jim sent us the following email and asked: “I’ve been refilling my HP cartridges at Costco Photo and some times they work, and other times the printer give an error message that it doesn’t recognize the cartridge as being an HP cartridge and won’t print. Do you know of a way to fool the printer into thinking that the cartridge is an HP cartridge with HP ink in it? I’ve tried talking to people at Costco about this problem, but they don’t know how to fix it. Haven’t been able to hear your show as I’ve been on the road for several weeks. If you have any info or know of any web sites that might address this problem, could you email it to me.”
HP and some other manufacturers build the printer heads onto the cartridges, which means there is a fair deal of electronics on the cartridge itself and there are some contacts at the end of it that need to touch their counterparts on the printer. If the printer doesn’t detect all the contact points, it gets confused and throws an error.
HP and some other manufacturers build the printer heads onto the cartridges, which means there is a fair deal of electronics on the cartridge itself and there are some contacts at the end of it that need to touch their counterparts on the printer. If the printer doesn’t detect all the contact points, it gets confused and throws an error.
Another solution sometimes given by printer manufacturers is, in case of trouble, unplug your printer for a few minutes and try again.
For more information, tune in to Hour 3 of our podcast.
Corey in Kingsport, Tennessee listening on 910 WJCW asked: “One of my friends got this “Internet online package” called cell phone spy. He showed me how he’s gone around and got people’s cell phone info using Bluetooth and he’s used their phone numbers to call people, and I want to make sure I’m not vulnerable to stuff like that. How in the world do you protect yourself when you have somebody that gets software off the Internet to steal your cell phone identity and use it?”
Any Bluetooth device needs to be paired with another device in order to work. For example, your Bluetooth headset needs to be paired with your cell phone before you can use it to make calls. Pairing requires that at least one of the devices is discoverable, at least, while you are pairing it. Which device in the pair is discoverable and which is searching will vary, depending on the devices. The key point to remember here is once the pairing has been accomplished, you need to set the Bluetooth parameters on your devices so they are not discoverable any longer. This will protect you against the sniffing that your friend has been doing.
As long as your Bluetooth devices are not discoverable, no one can secretly pair with them and use your cell phone without your knowledge.
If you have any questions about any of this week’s show info, please email us here.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
chicBuds: chicboom keychain speakers
Keyware: “VeriKey” – A USB device that monitors all office computer activity. For managers to know what is happening on the company computers.
PG Key: “PG Key” – A device that plugs into your children’s computer’s USB port and immediately creates a safer and more “kid friendly” online environment.