Links from 10-30-2007

Office 2007 Beta File Converter for the Mac
--requires Mac OS X 10.4.8 and only supports Powerpoint and Word documents at this time

Blue Screen while installing Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5, new)

iTunes Crashing in Lepoard (Mac OS X 10.5, new)

Myeconlab.com not working on MacBook
--Based on their web site it looks like they must be using activx
--Possible solutions involving Boot Camp:
--lockergnome.com
--askdavetaylor.com

Microsoft Word formats: the new version of Word in Office saves documents in '.docx' format, which may not be readable by older versions of Office/Word in Macs.
--Beta Format Conversion from MicroSoft (for Mac; requires Mac OS X 10.4)
--use NeoOffice (for Mac)
--use OpenOffice (for Mac)

Minimize Button Not Working

Help cleaning up computer with Spyware
--microsoft.com
--networkworld.com
Ad-Aware Download
SpyBot Download

URLS from 10/23/07

Short Films on Tunes - The Tribe

Kaspersky Virus Protection-Reviews
--toptenreviews.com
--pcmag.com
--pcworld.com

Kaspersky Virus Protection-Download
--download.com
--fileforum.betanews.com

Facebook Run Time Error- Windows XP

WMUB Stream Not working in iTunes (Mac):
--Some people have reported success by sorting iTunes by song title
--We have now eliminated the opening message; clicking on "MP3" from the WMUB home page should jump straight to the stream. Or this:
--in iTunes, choose Advanced menu --> Open Stream
--Paste or type the following URL into the URL field and then click the "OK" button:
--http://pubint.ic.llnwd.net/stream/pubint_wmub
--This will also skip the two extra things that normally play before you get to the stream.

URLs from 10/16/07

New Mac OS Leopard will not run on G3 processor

Leopard pre sales (Mac)

Sell your dead iPod

iPhone trademark dispute in Canada

Tips for handling your Mag saf power adapter (Mac)
--CBC.ca
--Apple.com #1
--Apple.com #2

Microsoft Word Vulnerabilities (Mac & PC)

Runing chkdsk (PC)

URLs from 10/9/07

Apple Battery Update for 15 inch MacBook Pro
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/9463

Uses for dead iPods
http://macenstein.com/default/archives/797

Macinstein
http://www.macenstein.com/default/

Problems with installing Windows 2000 SP4
http://www.tech-archive.net/Archive/Win2000/microsoft.public.win2000.setup_u
pgrade/2004-08/0019.html
http://labmice.techtarget.com/ServicePacks/win2000sp4.htm

New iPod commercials
http://www.apple.com/iphone/ads/ad12/
http://www.macnn.com/articles/07/10/08/new.iphone.commercials/

Dayton Ohio Hackers Convention (Day-Con 2007)
http://www.day-con.com/
http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/news-35/1191909
901303470.xml&storylist=cleveland#continue

URLs from 10/2/07

iTunes for Windows 2000

Sharing/collaborating on word processing files when not everyone has the same software. We discussed several options:
--Open Office free software
--Google's on-line word processing tool
--NeoOffice (Mac only) reads and writes Word files
--Creating pdf files readable (not writeable) on almost any computer. Part of Mac OSX; a Windows solution is Cute PDF Writer
--Use collaborative on-line software: Wiki and WriteBoard.com
--Options for reading MS Word files
--Office Live software

iPhone Human Interface Guidelines

New Version of Gimp

User email Steve Jobs about iMac problems and gets action

Amazon Music store

Belarc Advisor (profiles your system)

Dictionary of Computer terms

Com Port busy message:
--Versiontracker.com
--Virtualserialport.com
--Serial-port-communication.com
--Vicman.net

URLs from 9/25/07

MSN Messenger not accepting .MAC email accounts

Moving songs from iTunes to Windows Media Player

Wireless is working on some and not on others

Spybot anti-virus

'Windtunnel' fan noise in iMac G4

URLs from 9/18/07

iTunes 7.4.2

Getting a certificate error logging into Yahoo Mail via Firefox.

Video DVD won't work in iMac G5.
--Try booting from a system dvd to eliminate software as a problem
--Try logging in as a different user
--Apple.com

Windows External drive clicking after accidental power down while deleting files.
Probably turned off while writing to the directory. Try some recovery software like:
--VirtualLab by BinaryBiz
--Maxtor utility

Wireless does not work after re-format.
The wireless connection is probably missing the proper drivers. See:
--Support.microsoft.com

URLs from 9/11/07

Weird clock problems could be corrupt CMOS

History of email spam

Bayesian spam filtering

iPhone sim Unlocks phone in New Zealand

New iPods

Steve Jobs open letter about iPhone rebate

Spam information
--Dataparty
--Wired.com
--Securityfocus.com
--PCworld.com/article 1
--PCworld.com/article 2
--Radar.oreilly.com
--Puremagic.com

URLs from 9/4/07

Microphone issues in Vista:
--Recording quality is poor when you use a USB microphone on a Vista-based computer that has 4 GB of RAM or more
--Recording devices may not work if the devices have the same name in Windows Vista
--You may not hear any sound when you play back a recording that was recorded by using the Sound Recorder application in Windows Vista

URLs from 8/28/07

Secret Life of Steve Jobs

New Lego Kit "Young Woz and Jobs Playset" August 29th release

Slow access to another computer on a wireless network:
--try a speed test
--try war driving software to troubleshoot wireless connections

Resetting Windows XP Password

Clean Install of Windows XP

Adding Second monitor to new iMac

Pro Tools (audio editing software) will not run on my New Intel iMac
--Gearslutz.com
--Macrumors.com
--DigiDesign.com
--More DigiDesign.com

Dell Inspiron 5300e -- replaced mother board -- won't boot (gives 2 beeps)
--Bioscentral.com/beepcodes/
--Kropf.net
--Winforums.com
--Envytech.co.uk

URLs from 8/21/07

Free or cheap antivirus programs recommended by listeners:
--Avast
--AVG

PC World Anti-Virus Reviews

Entourage (Outlook) messages not showing up even though alert comes through:
--Sometimes the messages get moved automatically into the local inbox, not the Exchange inbox.
Click here for more info.

Refurbished iPhones on Apple Store

Mac or PC Rap Video

How to uninstall Norton Antivirus
--method 1
--method 2

Google earth -- does is cause a problem with sleeping Mac OS?

Netgear - Wirelessly printing to Netgear connected printer

URLs from 8/14/07

Should you use off-brand or refilled printer cartridges?
--On our 8/14/07 show, the statement was made that this is OK. Listeners Lee from Clayton and Bob from Centerville strongly dissent from this advice. Bob points out that Consumer Reports disagrees ("Cheap Inks Don't Pay" is the title of a section in their July 07 issue). Lee, who has serviced printers for 10 years, says:

It might be folly to replace a printer because it costs less to buy the replacement cartridges. It depends on the printer. Often the printer comes with starter cartridges. I have a friend who thinks he is saving by buying new printers. He is a good enough friend that I've never pointed out that the cartridges that come with that particular printer has about 1/4 the ink as the replacements.

The cost of a cartridge tells you nothing about the cost of printing. You need to know the cost/yield ratio of the cartridge. This information is available on line. I know that the Office Depot web site has the yields of all the ink and toner cartridges it sells in the product specifications of the product. There are other sources. Be aware that these data are based on industry standards of coverage and density. They should be used for comparison purposes only. However, I've found them to be very accurate and maybe a bit conservative.

One popular printer takes a black cartridge that costs $35 and has a yield of 200 pages. A competitor offers a similar machine that has a $20 cartridge with a 700 page yield.
Non-OEM cartridges will not void the warranty of your printer. However, if the cartridge damages your printer, furniture or carpet (not uncommon) that must be covered by the vendor of the third party cartridge. Check your vendor for their warranty. Quality and customer service of non-OEM cartridges varies widely.

Stores that sell both OEM and non-OEM cartridges make 3 to 4 times as much profit margin on the third party cartridges over the original manufacturer. They will push the non-OEM cartridges.

Canon and Epson printers are particularly susceptible to failure from use of third party ink and cartridges. Their print heads (jets) are built into the printer rather than the cartridge and if the ink clogs the heads you are pretty much dead in the water.

I simply tell my inquirers to not use anything but Canon cartridges in Canon printers. They have a 2 picoliter ink droplet rather than the 7-9 picoliter droplet of the competition. 100% of the Canon printers I've seen with clogged heads have owners who admit to using third party inks.

And last, I advise my subscribers, "Save money by buying your coffee at McDonald's rather than Starbuck's, buy day old bread and drive a Prius rather than a Hummer, but don't try to go cheap on ink."

Can't write to system root winnt:
--Download a boot disk from boot disk, and then fix it attribute back to read & write. See Bootdisk.com
--Or try the recovery console

Boot hard drive died trying to use second drive as boot drive
--Check jumpers settings for your hard drive

Update for Apple Airport Base Station

Skype for iPhone

How to change the drive letter of your boot drive

HP printers disapearing after reboot

Windows laptop will not hibernate
--Kellys-korner-xp.com
--Notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=51083
--Shivaranjan.com

Dayton Microcomputer Association

URLs from 8/14/07

Hibernate and Sleep issues in Windows XP (tech support articles from Microsoft):

How to troubleshoot hibernation and standby issues in Windows XP

Unable to Use Power Management Features

Drive Letter Assignments:
How to change drive letter assignments in Windows XP (Microsoft Support)

Can't write to Windows system folder- what to do
Try bootdisk.com to get to the command prompt and run attrib command

Or try the recovery console

Boot drive issues:
How to change the letters of your boot drive
Information on hard drive jumper settings

URLs from 8/7/07

Dimension 5100 BIOS downgrade instructions

How Linux keeps track of time
--Tldp.org
--Linuxsa.org.au

Apple sued over iPhone keyboard

Hacking the iPhone

How to recover deleted pictures from a camera flash card
--Thebishop.net
--Pcworld.com

Dell Laptop loose screen
--UCLA article
--Geekstogo.com

Reverting to an older BIOS for CarPuter
--Bay-wolf.com
--Dewassoc.com

URLs from 7/31/07

Syntax for CheckDisk in Windows 98
--Click START and select RUN
Type in CMD and press ENTER
In the Command Line Window, type in chkdsk /f

Care and cleaning of CDs and DVDs.
Our correspondent Liz in beautiful Savannah, who listens via our podcast, mentions two PDF resources:
--Council of Library and Information Resources
--National Institute of Standards and Technology

URLs from 7/24/07

Booting Window XP using a "Clean" boot for Uninstalling programs

iPhone Exploit may allow attackers to take control
--News.com
--Securityevaluators.com

BluEye -- an iPod hack

Q: Can I do wireless printing using a Linksys router & Lexmark printer?
--You could buy a new access point/router (some have USB ports designed for printers)
--Or connect the printer to an existing computer that's always on (the cheapest solution)
--See Pcstats.com article
--Search for Wireless print server

Using restore point to take Windows XP back to an earlier state

URLs from 7/17/07

Vinyl record sales are up 13%
Internet Explorer in Windows opens in too small a size

Setting up a home wireless network with 2 Mac laptops, USB Hard drive, printer
--Tip # 1
--Tip #2

Slow internet speed with Windows 2000 broadband
--We suggested that extra memory might help. Here's a bandwidth speed test.

Word processing compatible with Microsoft Office (esp. Word)
--We suggested the free open-source Open Office

Kevin from Eaton has a Windows 98 machine that won't boot properly. Bryan suggested a review of CHKDSK (Check Disk) procedures.

--Here's Wayne's guide:

--First, a word of caution: some of this may possibly change or impair your system. If you're not comfortable with this, don't do it.

--Try starting in Safe Mode (tap F8 key repeatedly during Startup)

--You can attempt to repair this file by starting Windows Setup using the orginal setup CD-Rom.

Select R at the first screen to start repair.

--Boot from Windows XP Install CD-Rom
Press R for Recovery Console
Select the number for the OS (in my case 1. C:\WINDOWS)
This should result in a prompt C:\WINDOWS
At the C: prompt type:

chkdsk C: /p/r

Then reboot and see if it’s fixed.

--If that does not help then go through the steps above.
At the C: prompt type:

Fixboot C:

Then reboot and see if it’s fixed.

--If that does not help then go through the steps above.
At the C: prompt type:

fixmbr

A warning will display stating the mbr is not standard or corrupt (or words to that effect). At "Do you wish to continue?" type Y for yes.
The new mbr should then be successfully written to the hard disk.
Type "exit" (no quotes) at the prompt. The system will reboot and all SHOULD be well.

A word of warning care should be execised if you multiboot into different OS's as this may prevent the system accessing a custom boot loader, but for single operating systems it should be fine. It works 100% of the time for me.

URLS from 7/10/07

Sun Computer’s Java download page

When surge protectors fail . . .

100,000 iPhones!
iPhones around the world contest

Pure Networks - Network Magic (partitioning software)

Wireless Router Review

URLs from 7/3/07

Free SpyLocked (spyware) removal tool

Sent messages not in the Sent folder in Outlook Express

URLs from 6/26/07

Using ReadyBoost to speed up Windows Vista

Should I use AdAware (spyware removal tool) with Windows Vista? (John in Hamilton)
--No, the web site indicates it will not run, even though the current version is called AdAware 2007. Spybot will run under Vista, and Windows Defender is built into it.

I have multiple partitions on my primary hard drive. Do I have to reformat to make it one again or to make one partition bigger since I am running out of room on my XP partition? (Ron in Middletown)
--No, you do NOT need to reformat. Use Partition Magic, $30-$55 at Amazon.com. Here's more information.

I was given an Apple laptop. I have an old PC at home and want to transfer files. Am I at risk of a virus? (Julie in Darrtown)
--Basically, no. Here's more information. Years ago there were some macro viruses that infected the macros (automated tasks) in Microsoft Word and Excel. Since you indicated you won't use these, you can rest at ease.

I accidentally erased my C drive. My Windows XP upgrade disk will not let me install it again. (Joe in Clayton)
--The Installer is probably looking for the original boot disk. Since your computer came with Windows ME pre-installed, try to find any ME or even a 98 Install disk. Once the XP installer sees an original licensed copy, it should go ahead. Here's information on a clean install of Windows XP.

My daughter wants Vista for her MacBook (to be run under Boot Camp). Should I wait for an upgrade? (Tom in New Castle)
--No. No new versions of Vista are due out anytime soon. We recommend Home Premium, but since she will be entering college, have her check out deals through the school's book store.
--Mary from Oxford had a followup comment: Check with her college tech department. They may make you buy a specific Mac or PC. Prices are much cheaper for software on campuses for students, so do check first.