2010-07-29 - CNET - The Real Deal - Technology - Technology - Canada (English)

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CNET to the Rescue: No matter where you go, here we are

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:23:00 PDT

On our show today: our favorite smartphone apps to help find stuff to do, things to eat, and people to connect with. Also, your questions and calls answered, including tips on painting laptops. But not until Josh shows off his USB-powered warning lights and a beer cooler that looks like a laptop case.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Geo apps

We discuss...

Road test

Josh: Timbuk2 Dolores Park Chiller

Rafe: Apple Magic Trackpad software update

Questions

Joshua Wagner: I bought a Netbook about a year ago. I have had AVG Free on it pretty much since I bought the computer. I also use the free version of Malwarebytes. So far, I have not been infected at all. Is that normal? Is there anything you guys would recommend to keep my computer more secure?

Rafe: Is it normal to not be infected? Yes! Now relax and carry on.

Josh: As long as you're not installing software packages from questionable sources, or visiting malicious Web sites, your computing activities should be safe and sound, yes.

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bpurcell: I have an Evo with the stock 8GB micro SD card, and I'm looking to expand to 16 or 32GB. When I do searches on the cards, I find that there are Class 2, 4, and 6 cards. I "believe" the difference is the speed at which you can pull data off the cards, but I'm not sure. Does the Evo work better or worse with a particular class? Does it really matter what class I get?

Josh: SD classes define the read/write speed the card is capable of. This becomes important when it comes to creating and loading large files, which for the EVO means the HD videos and 8-megapixel stills it takes. For apps being able to write little bits of data to the card it won't make that much of a difference, but you'll notice a nice speed improvement on the photo gallery app and video playback + recording with a class 6 card or higher. Just keep in mind that the price for 32GB class 6 MicroSD cards is not cheap since it just started shipping a few months ago. If you can hold out with the 8GB card until the holidays there's likely to be a price drop. Or just go with the 16GB cards Class 6 cards, which run around 60 bucks.

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I recently got an Android phone. This being my first smartphone, I must say I am thoroughly enjoying having a PC in my pocket which is significantly more powerful than some towers that are still up and running in my home. I of course have gone on an app-installing blitz, and as I was looking at all of my pretty icons (Mint, LastPass, contacts, etc) I couldn't help but get a little worried that I am not fully informed as to how to properly secure my data, both from the cloud and from the physical claws of strangers.

I of course have set up the gesture lock to keep out prying eyes, but was hoping you could give me some further education on the risks and how to properly deal with them.

Rafe: Android apps are supposed to be sandboxed, but developers can let users down. On iPhones, a recent Citibank app was writing financial and personal data to an accessible scratch file.

Josh: Some apps also come with security measures of their own, including Mint which uses its own passcode and a remote wipe feature. If you're concerned about such things, it's worth using those precautions. There's also third-party software that can let you track where your phone is, and do a remote wipe if need be like SmartGuard, SMobile Security Shield, Tomnica Beacon Data Protection, and Remote Wipe--the last of which requires your phone to be rooted.

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BlackBerry-sponsored question from Sebastian: I want to paint my Laptop BMW "cherry red" and I found a BMW certified collision repair facility to do so. What do I need to do, to properly seal/mask my laptop off? Or should I even do it at all?

Josh: This seems like a really, really bad idea to me. There are professional gadget painting services like Colorware that can do it for you in a variety of colors, but they only work with certain devices particularly for the fact that it's difficult to do without getting paint in places where it shouldn't be. Do you trust the grease jockeys at your auto shop to know how to seal everything up just right? My advice is to get a simple acrylic plastic case for your machine and have the guys at the Beemer shop paint that instead. See also the Instructables post, Project Big Red.

Rafe: If you can find a kindred geek spirit at a body shop who's done it before, sure, why not? My advice: 1) Don't let the first computer the guy's painted be yours. 2) Remove the case entirely from the electronic bits, don't rely on masking. 3) Mask every screw-hole, vent, and join seam. 4) Send us a pic when it's done.

Comments

Eric: Not sure if you've covered this app for Android, but thought I would try. It's called EasyTether and allows you to tether your phone (mine being an EVO) to your computer by using the USB cord. I was disappointed that is it not fast enough to stream Netflix on my computer, but I was able to navigate the Internet without any hiccups.

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CNET to the Rescue: Cubicle defense

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:28:00 PDT

Today, we rescue you from the indignities of working in a cubicle. We've got your rear-view mirrors, your headphones, and should all else fail, your USB foam rocket launchers. Because, you know, work is war. Also: How to stream music on an iPhone, how to test your home network for open ports, and much more.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

DEFEND YOUR ZONE
Cube defense necessities:

Rearview mirrors and security cameras
USB rockets
Headphones
White noise generator or the reverse, the "Babbleator"
A desk full of anime toys - keeps people away

ROAD TEST
Rafe's recent Comcast outage: The takeaway:

Evening outages
Too many splitters
The re-set cable modem
The non-working router
Twitter to the rescue!

QUESTIONS
HobbitFromPA: Will try to keep this short. Had a an IRiver that I really loved but 20g just wasn't cutting it anymore and also wanted something that played video. Bought an Archos 5 Android (500 gb) and liked it but got a brick unit from the start and went back and forth with them for months and finally ended up getting my money back. I want something that has a large storage capacity and can play audio and video and maybe even surf the interwebs. Apple is not an option. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Josh: According to our a/v gadget guru Donald Bell, the cross section between big capacity and gadgets with good browsers is relatively small if you're not willing to use something like a laptop. The Archos 5 Android was kind of on its own since it had that much storage.

While not a huge capacity, Donald suggests the Zune HD 64, which can do audio, video, and has a browser. And if you're looking for another Android tablet thingy you might want to check out the Dell Streak, which has the audio/video + browser features covered, but tops out at 32GB. Most of the other Android tablets that are on the horizon have a small amount of storage too.

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Chris: I had a question regarding streaming music on my iPhone. I would love to be able to stream music on my phone like I do on my computer using sites such as Grooveshark or Playlist.com. Unfortunately, due to some shortcomings in the area of Adobe Flash...no luck. (Also, Apple did not approve the Grooveshark app, which looks awesome). I realize that I could pay for this and get Rhapsody or a similar service, but I would rather just get the music videos from the YouTube app. Is it possible to stream specific music tracks on the iPhone for free?

Rafe: YouTube works on the iPhone. What's the problem?

Josh: Pandora and Slacker both have iPhone apps. There's also Last.fm and Rdio.

Rafe: Try MOG. New for iPhone. Free for 3 days, then $9.99/mo. Also Rhapsody, now a background app for iPhone 4

For streaming your own music you can use things like Mspot, Dropbox, Box.net and Apple's iDisk, which was just recently updated for iOS 4 multitasking and background processing.

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Mark: I have a lighting control system for my home that uses a central controller and is plugged in to my home's wireless router. An iPhone app can control the lights, it just needs to be on the home's Wi-Fi. The instructions say I need to allow "port forwarding" to allow access to the central controller when I am not home and not on my home's Wi-Fi.

I am confused on how safe this is, some say it's fine, some say it's not. The set up for the controller recommends it have authentication turned on, a username and password.

There is another central controller that allows access without port forwarding but it costs ~ $330 and I am trying to save money.

Rafe: You're right to be concerned about security, but there are precautions. First of all, the advice to turn on authentication and have a strong password is very good. Do it. Now, if you set up a port, you are opening up a device to the Net, but chances are the device isn't as vulnerable as a general-purpose computer. I suppose if it's a bad, insecure device, and your password can be routed around, then it is theoretically possible that it could be hacked to access other devices on your LAN from within your home's firewall, which would be very bad, but we have not heard of exploits yet against lighting controllers.

Also be sure to scan your PCs ports with Gibson Shields Up.

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Carl: My wife and I both have iPhone 3GSs. I am interested in geolocation apps that would allow us to see where the other person is without needing to check in anywhere or request a location. I know that the new iOS 4 allows some background GPS capabilities. I was wondering if there are any apps that would allow us to see each other's live location on the phone.

Josh: If Apple approves it, an app called PlaceTrack (which has been "in review" by Apple for close to two months now), will do just that using Google's Latitude service. Otherwise, there's nothing I could find that does everything automatically.

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COMMENTS (all about video streaming in the home)
Terry: I would like to make a comment on Vincent's home theater question on the 7/14 episode of CNET to the Rescue. I have a similar set up and have just dropped most of my cable channels, leaving only the very basic option. I have a small, relatively inexpensive HP desktop running the Windows 7 version Windows Media Center and an Xbox 360. Windows Media Center is hands down the most underappreciated Microsoft offering. It offers complete DVR functionality, full DVD playback, and limited Internet streaming (mostly CBS shows and Netflix). It is a really great program.

The best part is that any Xbox 360 acts as an extender for Windows Media Center allowing you to watch live broadcasts and any show recorded on the Media Center computer, as long as they are on the same network. I can tell you of first-hand experience that a Xbox 360 with a Wi-Fi connection can stream standard-definition television with out a hiccup. Although high-def recordings really should have a wired connection. It really does not take a lot of processing power to have a Media Center PC. I have a very basic desktop that I have added three video capture card (they run $50 to $75 on eBay) and XP-Media Center IR remote with a USB receiver that I bought on eBay for $25. The integrated video card worked well enough, even when watching high-def broadcasts (until I upgraded to a Blu-ray drive that is). The one thing you will need is a BIG hard drive. WMC files are big, with 1 hour of standard def taking up to 3GB and HD can be as much as 9GB! I have a two drives myself. A factory original 500GB drive and recently added 1.5TB drive.

With the addition of free add-on, I can jump seamlessly between WMC and Hulu Desktop and Boxee with only using my remote to control everything. I found a lot of info I use to make my media center at www.hack7mc.com and www.thegreenbutton.com. Just for full disclosure, these add-on programs will only work on the PC and not via the Xbox extender, I have been using WMC for about three years, starting with Vista, and absolutely love it.

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Dr. Karl: I was all set to recommend that the gentleman from last week's show look into Sling Media as a solution, particularly the "SlingCatcher" which basically lets you watch your main TV/DVR/Computer anywhere you want. Unfortunately, whilst researching, I discovered that as of April 2010, the product has been discontinued.

Oh well, a quick Amazon search reveals about a $100 average for home media streamers (cheaper than his console solution). And googling "cheap home media center" gets you a ton of great DIY how-to's (XBMC being my personal favorite). IMHO, though, just sit in the darn living room and watch TV, lol, OR, do what I do, and just leave video inputs in easy to reach places and carry your laptop from room to room. These last two suggestions are potentially free.

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Dustin: That's what Boxee was made for. It pulls content directly from the publisher's sites as well as Hulu, so when you look for a video, it presents you with all the various sources available to watch it, which allows you to bypass the favoritism that publishers dole out by putting episodes up on their site before Hulu. The Boxee box will be great when it comes out, but in the meantime, Acer makes some great small form factor PCs with dual core atoms and the ION graphics that work great for this. Combine that with Lenovo's multimedia remote which is basically a trackball with a small keyboard on it, and you have a decent home theater setup, I use it all the time and love it.

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CNET to the Rescue: Newest video editors

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:42:00 PDT

Josh Lowensohn has been using the iPhone 4's iMovie video-editing app, and compares it to the new YouTube editor and old standbys, iMovie for the Mac and Windows Live Movie maker, among other apps. Also, your questions answered. Mostly. We still haven't quite figured out how to ditch cable TV and just use the Internet and game consoles in its place.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

VIDEO SEGMENT

New editors on the block:

iMovie on iPhone 4 (video link, skip to 1:55).

Works with photos and videos.
Has 5 different themes, and transitions
Can export the file into your filmstrip
Only works on iPhone 4, though someone got it to work on a 3GS by hacking the application file (which is against Apple's DRM agreement)

YouTube's video editor

Does all the rendering and storage on Google's servers. Can cut up HD video on something like a netbook
End result still limited to 11 minutes in length
Josh did a how-to

Software: Adobe Premier Elements, iMovie, FinalCut Pro

Rafe says: I still like Windows Live Movie Maker, free for Win 7 users

Also, check out this image stabilization program that's saved my bacon: VReveal. I haven't yet tried the Deshaker plugin.

QUESTIONS

Shanksdon: Wondering if you could make recommendation for a good bluetooth, mainly for listening to ipod touch, for stuff like your podcast. I have had many, but they always seem to cut out alot. Thanks.

Rafe: I use Aliph Jawbone with the A2DP update. Works great, but mono only.

Josh: CNET's Donald Bell says he's had good experiences with the Altec Lansing Backbeat 903 headphones, but that there have been reports of glitchy playback. He recommends buying them somewhere where they can be returned just in case it happens to you. There's also the Sony Ericsson in-ear headphones, which are the smallest you'll ever see for Bluetooth headphones, and the Jaybirds, which Donald says "feel a little weird in the ear, but offer good sound."

Recently updated list.

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Derrick from AZ: Please tell me the background to Google's magic and fill me in on the security implications. I bought my 16G iPad with wifi. I take it out of the box, login to my secure network, open Google Maps, say yes when prompted to use current location. Poof, I'm looking at my house in satellite view. Come on! What just happened?

Rafe: You're being geolocated from wifi. There are companies like Skyhook wireless that know which access points are where. They get this data by "wardriving" around and collecting WiFi AP signatures and correlating it w/ GPS. Android phones and some other phones also contribute this data. In fact, most geolocation on smartphones happens over WiFi, since GPS is much slower and doesn't work indoors.

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My laptop was stolen & all my music along with it. Is there some way to copy the music that I synced onto my iPhone 3GS to a different computer? I can't add new music because every time I try to sync music from another computer it gives a warning that the data on the phone will be overwritten. The only backup I have is in Mexico, so short of taking a vacation is there any way to add new songs without losing the old ones?

Josh: This is a very common problem and one with a ton of solutions. If you're a PC user, I'd highly recommend using something called CopyTrans. It's free and restores your playlists, playcounts, and other metadata. It puts all of that right back into iTunes where you're going to want it.

If you're on the Mac, the bad news is that without jailbreaking your phone, there aren't any options we could find that are free of charge. Senuti comes rescommened (that's iTunes backwards by the way). It costs $18, but can be tried out for free for the first 1,000 songs you transfer. There's also TuneAid, which costs $2 and does the same things, plus lets you sync up the same iPhone or iPod with two different iTunes libraries.

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Rodolfo: I'm wondering if there is a solution for a gadget for windows vista or 7 that reports the HDD plus the CPU and/or GPU temperature. It could be as simple as possible I mean text-based only, no graphics or drawings. I'm an overclocker and other programs out there that kinda do this thing need other programs to be installed on the computer. And they're generally not free.

Rafe: Try Speedfan. I run this in the background and use a Windows 7 widget to report the data, but I couldn't find the widget again. So also try Intel's gadget that reports temps.

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Mike: My wife would really like something like the iPad, but she is not fond of the "walled garden" and likes too many flash-based sites. It looks like Google may not do a Chrome tablet in the near future. What do you think of the usability of an Android 2.2-based tablet, say, at least 7" in diagonal, for the kinds of things the iPad seems to be so popular for?

Rafe: We'd recommend an Archos device, but out expert Donald Bell doesn't concur. I'd wait. Or get the iPad.

Josh: Android tablets are not really here yet like you think they are. The Archos one is on the market, but it has its own app marketplace, and cannot run everything that say your Android device could...there's also the problem of finding Android apps that have been built for these screen sizes, and optimized to take advantage of their hardware. The worst thing in my mind is paying a lot of money for an experimental form factor that does not have the app support to back it up.

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COMMENTS

Scott: Hey, I was catching up on cnet to the rescue, and I had a suggestion about that guy's photo sharing thing. Google Wave. It's the ideal use case, they even showed it off at the launch. You drag and drop the photos into a wave about ten at a time. Everybody does, and then they're all in there, and all together, and you can view them all together as a slide show. I think you can download them all with one click, too.

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CNET to the Rescue: Rafe and Josh talk keyboards

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:19:00 PDT

If you're going to spend more time touching your keyboard than your spouse, you might want to put some time into picking a good one (keyboard, that is). Here are our tips for keyboards. Plus, of course, your questions answered. And the obligatory Evernote tip.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

KEYBOARD TALK:
The best desktop keyboard?
Rafe: Das Keyboard Ultimate, or an old IBM Model M
Josh: Dell (Seriously?)

How about laptops?
The boys agree: Lenovo Thinkpads

Worst keyboards:
Macbooks (or anything with chiclet keys.) The Macbooks are missing keys like forward delete! (Yes, you can Fn it, but not the same)

Fun keyboards:
Optimus Maximus.
Optimus Minimus (keyboard stickers for when your OLED keys go out.)
Upcoming Optimus Popularis (sub-$1,000 version of the $2,000 Maximus).
The gBoard (a keyboard for Gmail).

Talk about ergo keyboards... (with a phone call)

New trend in Mobile:
Swype (Android).
Thickbuttons (Android) video.
Shapewriter (iPhone app).

Memory lane: The Half keyboard, Palm foldout keyboards, the MicroBAT

Tips:
Sharing keyboards.
1. KVMs. Recommend IOgear Miniview.
2. SynergyKM.

KEYBOARD QUESTIONS:
Ryan from Cincinnati: I have a Windows 7 PC at home currently using a regular Windows keyboard and I would like to switch and use to the Apple 'Flat' style keyboard. Will this keyboard work with my PC and is there a way to re-program the Mac specific keys to work as Windows keys?

Josh: Yes, the keyboard will work with your PC, you just need to grab the keyboard drivers from Apple.

As for setting the keys to do different things, you can use a neat, and simple little program called Sharpkeys. It edits your Windows registry, which is a little scary--but it gives you complete control over remapping your keyboard at a very deep OS level, meaning you don't need to run some separate piece of software all the time for it to work. John Robbins over at Wintellect has a good how-to on how to use it with an Apple keyboard.

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Is there a keyboard you would recommend for kitchen use?

Rafe: Sure. A roll-up keyboard like this one from ThinkGeek.

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QUESTIONS:
Steve Eli: For some time now, my family has been using facebook to publish their photos from miscellaneous events. While this works, it requires me to be monitoring my facebook news feeds for events that are of interest to me. For example, if 3 families meet up for the 4th of july, and each family member takes pictures, they upload them to facebook for everyone to see and lets say each family takes 50 photos. Thats 100 photos (excluding my own) that i would need to be looking for on facebook. And i dont know about your wall, but mine is very active and i miss some of these photo events. Are you aware of a photo sharing service (preferably online), that would allow my family to upload photos to an area so that all members could see them and be notified in some fashion?

Josh: Well, the easiest thing to do while still using Facebook is just to have your other family members share that album with you as soon as they've uploaded it. If you want to jump off to another service, Google's Picasa is very good at this. You can set up an album that's shared with other people who can contribute their own photos, add tags (including geotags), and it has built-in facial recognition. Just keep in mind you only get a gig of free space with Picasa Web Albums, unlike Facebook which is unlimited.

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Teri: I was looking at SugarSync or Carbonite, but I'm not sure.

Rafe: Carbonite or Mozy for backup. $54.95 a year for unlimited storage. More complex answer: Sugarsync, since it does so much more, like sync, Web access, and device access. But it's expensive, and there's no unlimited plan.

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Clay from Bama: I was wondering if y'all knew of a way to log ALL the traffic going through my home router for accountability's sake. Ideally this log would be password protected and always on.

Rafe: That's a lot of data. You can probably enable some form of logging on the router itself. Or use OpenDNS, which logs all DNS lookups and provides reports.

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Jeremiah: Is there an easy way to check my AT&T 3G data usage on my iPad? It seems that if I'm not on the unlimited plan, I can easily check it through the Settings app, but if I'm on the unlimited, there's no easy way. I can't even seem to sign up on AT&T's website to check. I'm seeing if I should downgrade my plan to one of the smaller ones to save money.

Josh: Ah yes--this according to the AT&T rep I spoke to is a very popular question with a sad answer. You cannot see this metric from the usage info in the cellular data tab in settings, or by trying to log-in to your account page on ATT's wireless Website (which is impossible). I was told AT&T has simply not been keeping track of it, and has no plans to. You can check this metric from the iPhone on the newer 200MB and 2GB plans, and even get updates on when you're running low--but the now extinct unlimited plan was not being tallied at all by AT&T who was treating that data use like a pre-paid plan.

The easiest way for you to do this is to reset the iPad's usage counter in the general section of the settings menu the very same day your new month of unlimited service begins. Write that number down the next time you do it, and you'll get a pretty good idea of what it's doing. On the iPhone I found this plenty accurate compared to the numbers AT&T was giving me on its site.

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Obligatory Evernote question:

Mark: I am trying to help my wife get more organized by using Evernote. She gets frustrated with the many emails she has on her iPhone/iPad in gmail and would like to be able to save selected emails into Evernote. I know how to copy and paste the body of the email using iPhone gestures but cannot figure out how to copy the "entire" email, in other words she would like to copy the address, subject and dates as well as the body of the email into Evernote. I have searched the web without success on this topic.

Rafe: Easy! All Evernote accounts have private email addresses. Just forward the e-mails you want to this address. Full info.

CNET to the Rescue: Road trip road test

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:42:25 PDT

This week on the show: Road tripping. We've got real-world road tests from road warriors Daniel Terdiman of CNET Road Trip 2010 and Darren Kitchen, of Hak5 and his own cross-country motorcycle trip.

Also, Android and networking tips.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Travel gear advice from Darren and Daniel:

Vehicle choice
iPad as primary computer?
Photo and video: Tripods and mounds
Communication tips.
Entertainment
Luggage

QUESTIONS
Evan: I'm a just a simple farm boy who uses podcasts rather than talk radio to keep my ears busy as I work the land all day. I've become quite fond of the form factor of the latest generation of iPod Shuffles.

The problem I have with the device, though, is that podcasts do not shuffle. It seems that regardless of which mode, standard or shuffle, the device is in, the podcasts roll in alphabetical order AND newest to oldest. To me, this just doesn't make sense. First, I feel like I should be able to shuffle the podcasts so I don't hear them in the same order every day. But, even if that isn't possible, I feel like I should be able to play them oldest to newest, so daily podcasts actually make sense. Think BOL.

Josh: I bothered CNET's audio expert Donald Bell about this and he suggested a painful but successful method that involves simply changing the media type of those podcasts you want to add from 'podcast' to 'music' Then you can stick them in a playlist and the shuffle will actually shuffle them--or play them in whatever order you put them into. You lose the convenience of the auto sync and delete, but you gain complete control over playing them in an out of control fashion.

To do it, just right click on the podcasts, then pick "get info." Then in the options tab, change the media kind to music.

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JoshuaCaleb: I am going to be upgrading my first gen BB Storm (and yes, I actually like it) to a more functional android phone. I was planning on getting the incredible, but then the Droid X came and VZW is allowing early upgrades to it(my upgrade is in Nov). Now I'm hearing rumblings about a Moto 2GHz Tegra android phone with gyroscope, hardware acceleration and everything else "technologically possible" (cue Nerd Chorus). So, what's a tech geek supposed to do? Should I wait, or get the Droid X? I like the large screen on the Droid X, but a 2GHz phone sounds killer. And then there's the battery issue. Will a 2GHz processor kill the battery life like the 4G on the Evo? Or is the X's monstrous screen going to be more of a power drain?

Josh: Playing the technology waiting game will always result in loss, and a never-ending feeling of buyer's remorse. People do this every year with the iPhone, and now it's becoming even harder with Android devices, since a newer, incrementally better one is coming every few months. The Droid X is probably more than enough phone for you coming from the Storm, so I think you should just get that and try to be happy.

If you are worried about battery life, just get another battery. They're cheap and useful.

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Eric: I am a Sprint customer and Samsung Instinct owner. I am looking to upgrade to the HTC EVO in the coming months. Minneapolis does not have 4G yet but it will be coming soon and I was wondering about using the EVO as a Wi-Fi hub for my XBOX, PS3 and laptops.

My questions are: Will the 4G signal be strong enough to simultaneously run my laptop online, my girlfriend's (while she plays Bejeweled BLAH!) all while streaming Netflix videos on my PS3? Or another example, do you think the 4G signal will be strong enough to connect my XBOX or PS3 and play online games such as Call of Duty, etc?

I'd really like to get rid of my Comcast internet bill and only pay $30/month for an Internet connection versus about $60. This won't sway my decision on getting the EVO, but will on whether to get the Wi-Fi hotspot option. I just don't know if the 4G will be sufficient. Any thoughts? Thanks for the help, love the show.

Josh: Not a good solution. Likely too slow for long downloads, also the latency will kill you on games.

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Trey: I've been trying to figure out how to use a VPN like Hamachi to access my Internet connection when I'm not at home. It works fine for file transferring between my Netbook and my home computer when I'm at an Internet cafe, but I can't seem to figure out how to browse the Internet through the VPN. How do I configure it so that if I were to go to "what is my IP address.com" from the internet cafe, it would say that I'm using my home internet connection?

If it's important to fake out the IP address, one super-easy solution is to use a remote-control app, like LogMeIn Free, from your cafe to your home PC. LogMeIn owns Hamachi, by the way. On the Hamachi wiki is a way to use the service as a proxy. (Darren has more)

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Alex: I was wondering if there is any method you can recommend for finding out definitively if video streaming is being throttled by my ISP. I frequently have problems streaming video from major services such as Hulu or Amazon on demand. Videos will start playing just fine, but several minutes in the connection status in the player just tanks and the video becomes unwatchable. It doesn't seem to be that my connection is crapping out entirely, because I have run speed tests while simultaneously seeing these symptoms and still show a solid connection speed with low latency. While I could easily believe this is entirely Comcast's fault, I have noticed these problems are most likely to occur at times when these services are probably in high demand. Specifically, evenings when people are likely to be at home and streaming movies. This makes me wonder if the problem might actually be on the content provider's side if they are being overloaded.

Chances are it's not a throttling issue so much as a problem with Flash video issue. Flash is not very good at adapting to changing bandwidth, which you're most likely to see during congested times. Silverlight is actually a better system for variable bandwidth. And you're right, the problem could be at the content provider, the ISP, or anywhere in the middle.

Josh: There are ways to test your connection for these kinds of drops though. Wikihow has a good list

COMMENTS
Greg: I'm a software engineer, working in the wireless networking area. In this past week's show someone asked about how to deal with old computers that don't support Wi-Fi encryption. Turning off ESSID Broadcasts is indeed a good first start, and something I recommend in any case, for everyone. Another thing to consider is that security isn't only about encryption.

Controlling access is also important, and many Wi-Fi access points allow things to be locked down by the MAC address of the wireless client. What you do here is to tell the Access Point which clients are allowed to attach, by entering the 12-digit radio address of each, and only they can get access to the network. This helps protect the other computers (including the wired ones) that are on the private side of the router. Of course, a determined hacker can spoof being one of those clients (so it's not perfect), but if there are enough barriers in place, a thief will usually choose to spend his/her time elsewhere.

NEXT TIME
Next week: Keyboards. What's your favorite, and why? Send comments and questions to rescue@cnet.com.

CNET to the Rescue: What to get after E3

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:20:00 PDT

Josh is back from E3, with buying advice--including a laughable plastic laptop pad. Plus: we answer your questions on old and busted iPhones and iPods. And we get all networky.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Josh's E3 takeaways and recomendations:
Motion-control
-Natal looked like the simplest with nothing that you need to keep in your hands
-Very cool demos of PlayStation Move at the Sony press conference. 1:1 motion in Tiger Woods, and upcoming "Socery," which lets you do Harry Potter-like spells with the Move controller.

3D
-Nintendo's 3DS of course, which was announced and demoed, but not given a price or release date. Nintendo was letting people play with 3DS units attached to booth babes.
-saw cool demos of 3D at the Sony Press conference, games like Gran Turismo 5 and Killzone 3. Effect was neat but slightly nauseating. Might have been the massive screen we were watching it on...

Console
-new Xbox 360 "s". Smaller, quieter, built-in Wi-Fi (normally a $99 peripheral), and has a new port on the back that will power Kinect, unlike for the older 360s--which need an extra A/C plug to get it to work. Still no Blu-ray though.

Games to get
-Wii: Donkey Kong Country returns, Kirby's Epic Yarn, and Goldeneye remake
-everything else: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Fallout: New Vegas, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Road tests:
Rafe: Angry Birds

Using Outlook with Gmail - works great!

Josh: Lapdesk, Timbuk2 bag, Cliff Bars

Questions
--------------------------------------

Garrett: Surprise surprise, I'd like to get rid of my old iPhone and get a new iPhone 4. I currently have a 3G and have had it for almost 2 years. Naturally it has become saturated with not only personal settings and files, but also personal data and information, namely passwords and other things of this nature. What is the best way to completely remove all of this information and ensure that it is not available for recovery in the future? I know that the phone has the "Reset All Content And Settings" option, which, quite frankly, seems all too convenient. Will performing this function eradicate all data and settings so that it cannot be recovered by someone at a later date? Perhaps I sound a bit paranoid, but I know that if anyone can understand the desire to recycle technology while maintaining privacy, it's you guys. I thought this topic may be apropos in light of the upcoming release of the iPhone 4 and the madness that is sure to follow.

Great question, and...It works! In fact, it actually overwrites your data with random bits. That's why it can take more than an hour.

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Michael: I recently bought a refurbished second generation iPod Touch off Apple's site to save some money. Then I learned that the new IOS will have multitasking, which I would love to have in my iPod, but as you know apple says that the hardware is unable to handle multiple tasks at one time. I was just wondering if there will be any way for me to trick iTunes into thinking my iPod is newer than it is or if there is anyway for me to be able to multitasking. My iPod is not currently jail-broken but if it would allow me to run the full IOS 4 i would consider doing that. Thank you for you time. Love the show!

Josh: You can't trick iTunes into thinking your iPod or iPhone is something it isn't (at least easily), but you can get multitasking on non-iOS4 devices by jailbreaking and downloading either ProSwitcher or Multifl0w from Cydia. That said, your iPod--if it's a first generation iPod touch, is probably too slow to get much use out of this.

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Bruce: My pictures used to open with one program, now they open with another. How can I fix that? Bruce

You can change file associations.

Josh: And if you're on a Mac, you can find the "open with" menu by right clicking on any file, and choosing the "get info" option.

--------------------------------------

Andrea: I have a small business and Web site. I would like to pay someone to advertise and upkeep my RSS feed but I don't have any idea what to pay them to do it since I don't know much about it. I have heard it is a great advertising tool. I don't have the time to do it myself, but I would be willing to hire someone. How can I find out what reasonable pay would be so they would monitor and do a good job?

Depending in what system you're using to publish your web site, you outlay for keeping up your RSS feed should range from $0 to $0. Nearly all publishing systems, especially blogs, automatically keep up RSS feeds of sites. Just search for RSS plus the name of your publishing system for the details.

Josh: As per the advertising bit, places like Google-owned Feedburner can advertise your RSS feed. There's also Google AdSense for feeds.

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Liana: Hey guys! I am loving the new show and I am excited to finally have a question for you guys! So I have been a BlackBerry user for years but I have recently been thinking of switching to an Android, probably the Evo. Is there anyway to easily transfer things such as tasks, contacts, memos, etc., from one system to another? I use my phone for work and would hate to have to re-create it all on a new phone. Thanks so much and keep up the good work!

Josh: Hi Liana. If you're a Windows user, the easiest way is to fire up Outlook Express and transfer all that data to the program. Then, take your new Evo, and sync it up with Outlook Express. Done. Another option is to take both phones in to a Sprint store, and they'll it for you. A third option, that requires no humans or computers is to simply transfer over all that stuff via Bluetooth from one phone to the other, although this can take a while.

--------------------------------------

Robert: I would like to activate encryption on my home wireless network, the only problem is we have a few computers that have wireless cards which do not support connecting to encrypted wireless networks. Because of this, I have chosen not to broadcast our SSID, however I realize this is not an ideal solution. Do you know of any other ways to protect our network, keeping in mind that a few of the computers on our network do not support connecting to an encrypted network?

If you have wireless cards that are so old they don't support encryption, get new wireless cards. Modern USB Wi-Fi cards are like $13. Not broadcasting SSIDs can slow down casual Wi-Fi thieves, but it's not a total solution. Wi-Fi scanners can still grab your packets.

--------------------------------------

Jeremiah: Can I use the same domain name across different service providers for different services? For example, if I own www.cats.com, can I use Gmail to handle my e-mail and some squarespace/wordpress/tumblr service to host my blog/Web site? I'm not sure how to do this because it seems that the DNS server settings on my registrar can only point to one place.

Yes. Easiest solution for this is to go to the registrar where your name record is, and change the MX field to point to your e-mail server. Most registrants and e-mail services will have instrux, and you'll need to go to them to get details. Or, if you are using a service that hosts both blogs and e-mail (iow, not tumblr or Wordpress), but still want to use Gmail to access your e-mail, you can simply set up Gmail to access the POP or IMAP accounts at your hosting company.

--------------------------------------

Comments

Scott: Thank you so much for for the recommendation of Things for Mac. I was using RTM for past several years and was getting tired of trying to mold it to the GTD (Getting Things Done) philosophy. The RTM iPhone app was OK, but the Web interface was just plain weird and clunky. Then about a month ago I heard you mention Things on a Buzz Out Loud episode and I have some unspent birthday money lying around and l made the plunge into Things for Mac and Things for the iPhone/Touch. I couldn't be happier. I love the look, feel and powerful simplicity of this app. It fits GTD perfectly. It IS a little spendy, but worth it in the long run. I've tried all the Todo apps you mentioned and more. Nothing fits GTD like Things.

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Andy: First of all, I recently discovered CNETTV and love every minute of it. I'm glad the "Real Deal" is still going. On to the good stuff. I was listening to episode 2 all about Android. I love Android. When Josh was talking about apps and said there was a specific app that you need root for and Rafe asked why you would want root. I wished that I was listening live so I could call in and tell you about the awesomeness that is root on android. There are lots of reasons to get root, besides being a geek. There are several cool apps you can get, like Wi-Fi tethering that you need for root. But the biggest reason to get root is community ROMs. Anyone who has a g1/myt3g/droid/nexus1 should check out http://cyanogenmod.com. Cyanogen does an incredible community ROM with tons of features and improvements. I have a G1, which currently officially only runs 1.6 (doughnut) Android and won't get anything else, but through the power of the community my phone actually is running 2.1 and will run 2.2 when it comes out. So even though T-Mobile/Google has left us early adopters out in the cold, the community hasn't. If you have an Android phone, especially an older one, you should definitely look at rooting. Hope that wasn't too long winded.

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CNET to the Rescue: Atomic clocks and hybrid storage

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:41:00 PDT

Josh is in Los Angeles at E3 getting attacked in his taxicab, so we've got CNET Download's Seth Rosenblatt to help us make sense of Android to-do list managers, hybrid storage, kid-proofed PCs, and moving 10-year-old Outlook files. Also: how to never set another clock again.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Road tests:
Rafe hates setting clocks and being late. So...

Sharp wall clock
Ambient Mist
Seth: Astrid, the to-do list manager for Android
Web browser Flock

Questions

Brian: I'm looking into getting a mifi, or a mifi like product (a la Overdrive). I'll be using it with with my iPod Touch, Netbook, and an eyefi card in my camera. I'm currently stuck in a Verizon vs. Sprint argument in my head, leaning to the Sprint for the location feature, since the Touch doesn't have GPS. Any advice would be great.

Rafe: I lead toward Sprint, but not for geoloc. Rather, it has 4G in some regions. I believe you'll find geoloc via wifi on services that support is surprisingly good.

Seth: I've heard that Verizon's MiFi is faster, but I don't have experience with MiFi.

--------------------------------------

Aaron from Chicago: Hey guys, love the show. I was looking at the new seagate momentus xt hybrid hard drive and I'm not exactly sold yet...See, the xt has 4GB of flash memory, which helps with the reads and writes to the hard drive, but what exactly is the advantage over just getting 4GB of more RAM? My new MacBook Pro has a 5400 rpm and I was looking for a replacement, but I was also considering bumping up my RAM from 4 to 8GB. Do you think RAM would be a better upgrade than the xt? Thanks, love the show, rock on!

We also got...

Leonard, Illinois: I have a late '08 15-inch MacBook Pro 5.1. I love it but I am looking for an upgrade. I want to replace my hard drive with a SSD to make everything run faster. Thing is, SSDs are expensive and I can only justify paying around $180 on this oldish MBP, which (in August, when I intend to buy) can get me at the very most 120gb.

Will an external hard drive connected to the Macbook's Expresscard slot via eSATA be able to act as an extension of my computer when plugged in (play music/movies off the drive)? I could then fill up a slightly smaller and less expensive SSD with Snow Leopard, WoW, browser, etc. For on the go, my music is already on my phone--I don't need my library with me.

I could use my current Mac drive as my external drive to save major money over a high-capacity SSD.

I also read a bit about SSDs designed for the Expresscard slot like this. But I'm unsure.

What do you think?

Hybrid drives explained.

Anandtech test. recommends it.

Rafe: Furthermore, I would say that 4GB is sufficient RAM for most people. Personally I would upgrade a PC or Mac to 4GB first, then get a perforamnce drive, like the XT, and the get more RAM. It's all about chasing the bottleneck, and mind you I don't have hard data to back up my recommendations, just experience.

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Brian in the woods: I have a 6-year-old that I would like to get his first basic computer. I know there's no way filtering can catch all the sites. So, at this age, I would like to have software that only allows him to visit sites that I have whitelisted. Ideally I would like a firefox add-on. Does anything like this exist?

Per Larry Magid: Use the Norton Online Family.

Rafe: also, see your router. And try OpenDNS.

Seth: +1 for Norton Online Family. From my tests, it does an excellent job of giving parents control, but allowing them to adjust settings as kids develop naturally. It also offers older kids an opportunity to ask their parents why something was blocked, which struck me--a non-parent--as being a positive step toward discussion. Also, it's free and doesn't require anything else from Symantec.

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Angel, San Juan, Puerto Rico: I'm setting up a network in my parents house, but I'm having a little problem deciding the best way to go. My parents live in a two-story house and receive their Internet via cable modem (single IP address, no built-in NAT). They have a home office upstairs with two desktops and a networked printer. Downstairs is the living room and the bedroom where they have 2 netbooks and 2 iPhones mostly used for Web access and some occasional apps and music downloads via iTunes.

They're not streaming HD video or the such so they don't need the fastest connection possible. I tried to install a Wi-Fi router upstairs to connect the printer and desktop via wired Ethernet and provide a Wi-Fi signal for the downstairs area for their netbooks and iPhones. Unfortunately, the walls are thick enough that the Wi-Fi signal just doesn't reach the downstairs area (tried a Linksys 802.11n dual-band Wi-Fi router to no avail).

Dropping a cable down to the living room is not an option, so I was considering getting a wired router for the upstairs and then get a Powerline kit to bring a connection downstairs so I could connect an Wi-Fi access point downstairs. Would this be the best way to go about it? Do you have any other recommendations? I haven't bought any gear yet so I'm open to other/better options and recommendations.

Rafe: I'm a big fan of powerline networking for exactly this scenario. It's an under-rated technology. Haven't tried it lately so can't make product recommendations, but search the reviews sites and go from there. An alternate solution is to set up an intermediate Wi-Fi router as a bridge, but powerline sounds much easier to maintain.

--------------------------------------

Michael Low, a.k.a. TheLostChinese: I want to get the new iPhone 4. Since my mom already has an AT&T smartphone with unlimited data, will they allow me to be added onto her plan as a second line and also get unlimited data even though they just capped data plans at 2GB?

I doubt it!

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Ralph in Portland, Oregon: How should I transfer Outlook 2000 data from an XP computer to Outlook 2010 on a Win7 computer? In the past I have tried to replace the .pst file with the old one, but Outlook seems confused by this. If I just add it as another file in the menu, then the contacts and calendar items do not transfer easily.

Seth: Consensus seems to be that this is potentially fraught with high drama. if you have high blood pressure, you might want to stay away. for some reason, Outlook 2010 is known for having old PST import problems.

MS does provide a Personal Folders Backup tool. Follow the instructions carefully at KB 238782 and theoretically it'll work.

--------------------------------------

Obligatory Evernote question:

Hey Rafe,

Eric from Silver Spring, MD: After seeing this article on Life Hacker about how to Digitize Your Life I started thinking about putting some of my more important documents into Evernote. I know I'll have to keep physical copies of some things (car title, etc.) but for everything else, do you recommend this? This would include medical documents and receipts among other private documents. Does this sound safe to you? Are you aware of any weaknesses in Evernote's security model? Is this what you do?

Rafe: It has item-level encryption. Use it for sensitive docs. Evernote cannot recover the data. But note that you can't see the encrypted items on all platforms. iPad for ex.

Seth: Evernote so far has failed to take out my garbage, but I hear that feature's coming.

--------------------------------------

Comments

Susan: I am a podcast listener. I usually get to it on Thursdays. I just finished the goo episode. You, two are too precious! I got a sample of that stuff a while back and use it all the time. It works great. Really good on cat hair on the keyboard.

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CNET to the Rescue: Flip that phone

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:26:00 PDT

Josh is going to tell us how to get out of a mobile phone contract, what to do with an old phone, and how to connect an XBox to a PC with a crossover cable. Plus, road tests (iOS, a new iPad case, and yellow, sticky, gross keyboard cleaning goo) and your questions answered!

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Road tests:
iOS

ZooGue iPad case

CyberClean goo - live test!

Main topic: Get out of a cell phone contract
So it's that time of year--the one where Apple puts out a new phone and people are either clamoring to drop their current carrier, or trade up from an older model. There are three areas we need to break down to talk about this:

1. Early termination fees (ETFs)

These are the fees a carrier will charge you if you want to cancel your contract.

AT&T, which in the U.S. is the carrier of the iPhone, recently increased its ETF from $175 to $325, though that's only for smartphone users. People with non-smart, or "feature phones" actually had theirs lowered from $175 down to $150. AT&T reduces that fee by either $4 or $10 a month you're on that contract.

Verizon too has two tiers of ETFs, $350 for smartphones, and $175 for feature phones.

Sprint's ETF starts at $200 and goes down by $10 every month beginning after the first four months. That means if you're a year or more into a two-year contract, you can make a break for a little more than $100.

T-mobile is $200.

2. How you can you keep number if you break contract, or leave your current provider?

So number porting, or moving your number from one phone to another is a federal law in the United States. The FCC has a great FAQ. The key takeaway is that if you're moving to another carrier, even before your contract is up, you sign up for your new service with the new one, and they take care of if. If you cancel with the old one, then sign up at the new carrier, you won't be able to keep your number.

Also, an interesting fact, according to Wikipedia: "Iceland, Canada, and the United States are the only three countries in the world that offer full number portability transfers between both fixed lines and mobile phone lines."

3. How to sell old crap?

So what to do with your old phone? If you're a good person you can donate it to charity, or one of the many programs that delivers old or unwanted handsets to members of the military, or people in developing countries. You can also make some cash and sell it on places like Craigslist and eBay. I sold my last phone on eBay and made a reasonable amount of cash, just keep in mind things like fees in mind, which is something you don't have to worry about with Craigslist.

Good eHow how-to guide.

Questions
Hero to Evo? Please Help!

I've been a Sprint customer for years and I'm a premier customer, which allows me to get $150 off my phone upgrades once a year. I bought a HTC Hero on the release date, October 11, 2009. Now I want to get the HTC Evo...Can you give me some advise on how to get my hand on the new Evo without having to pay the full retail price or do u think I just have to want til Oct.

Thanks, Larry L.

Josh: Be patient. October 11 is four months away. Either that, or pay the $150 you would have otherwise saved and enjoy a $300 discount on your phone next year (if the discount stacks).

------------------------------------------

OK, just got through the keynote from the leader. As there was no iPod Touch refresh I am trying to get a way around it. Is it feasible to get an older iPhone 3G or 3GS and flip it to an iPod Touch? It'll give me a camera, a higher capacity device, and with the new OS--a fairly decent device. As Wal-Mart is blowing out some of them at a decent rate and probably a few people will be looking to get rid of them soon what do you think? And if it sounds like a good idea, how would you do that. I'll check with Wal-Mart to see if they will sell one without activation. And if not, then the previously owned market seems the trick.

Jake in Fullerton.

Josh: So, yes you can use an iPhone without an active SIM card as a souped up iPod Touch, but you're not going to get it for $97 from Wal-Mart without activating a 2-year contract, and otherwise it's still going to cost more than $500. If you have any patience whatsoever, you should wait three months for Apple's annual September music event, where iPod Touches with FaceTime-ready cameras are pretty much a given.

------------------------------------------

Phone questions:

Luke in Ohio is stumped by his iPod (got it for Christmas). Tt keeps freezing no matter what app he is using. He deletes apps, but it still keeps freezing.

Try resetting to factory settings: http://www.apple.com/support/ipodtouch/assistant/ipodtouch/

Michael, Carolina; About to join military and concerned about ETFs if he's deployed out of U.S.

http://www.usa.att.com/military/index.jsp

Charles, North Carolina. Wants to hook Xbox to his PC.

Check out instructables! http://www.instructables.com/id/Use-your-laptop-as-an-XboxXbox-360-wireless-adap/

------------------------------------------

Noor: I just want to know what is the difference between a business laptop and a consumer laptop? Is it just about the looks? because frankly I find business laptops more appealing (ThinkPad). Plus business laptops are a bit cheaper as well.

Rafe: Generally, a few things: 1) more stable builds so parts are interchangable. 2) different service plans 3) biz vs. consumer features. For example, you get disk encryption but lose HDMI out. Depends on vendor, though. I like biz laptops more too, because I don't like the artifice in consumer designs.

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Jerry, San Diego: I'm looking for a way to sync my bookmarks across all my OS X browsers. I primarily use Chrome but also use Safari and Firefox. Safari is especially important since my iPad bookmarks get synced with my Mac Safari bookmarks. But, I need a good way to sync the bookmarks across all of my OS X browers. Any suggestions? I've heard of Xmarks, but is there any other solution you know of? A web interface would also be good for work access.

Use Xmarks! Works great. Also use Safari for iPad.

Josh: If you want to go the Web route, you can always try Delicious (owned by Yahoo), which has add-ons for Chrome, Firefox, and IE as well as bookmarklets that you can use in Safari. It won't do the bookmark sync thing with Safari just yet though--expect that in a few months when Apple rolls out the extension marketplace for Safari 5.

------------------------------------------

Obligatory Evernote item:

Justin: I loved the interview with Phil Libin, the CEO of Evernote. I'm almost convinced that I should move all of my text files into Evernote. However, I have concerns about the future. When the Evernote product reaches the end of its life, what will we do with all of our notes? I know each note can be exported individually on a Mac, but is there some other solution I'm missing?

Phil Writes:

Data portability is a founding principle at Evernote. The memories that you store with us are yours, not ours, and are meant to survive independently of the existence of any particular company. To that end, we make it very easy to get any or all of your data in and out of Evernote.

1. You can select any or all of your notes and export them via HTML or a fully documented XML format, which preserves all tags and note structure. Easiest way to do it on the Mac is to select "All Notebooks," click on any note in the middle panel, hit Cmd-A to select all the notes, then File->Export.

2. Your notes are stored on your local Mac file system in human-readable form and you can do whatever you want with them. Look in the "Application Support" folder. If you sync from more than one computer, each has all your notes.

3. If you use TimeMachine, or any other backup system, your notes are backed up locally. Obviously, they're also backed up on the servers, but you always have access to your local copies if you're concerned about Evernote going away.

4. We have open APIs on both the server and clients that you can use to get your notes into our out of your account and convert them to whatever format you want.

We want people to stay with Evernote for the rest of their lives and we think the best way to do that is to make them comfortable that they can leave whenever they want and take all of their memories with them.

- p

CNET to the Rescue: Reminders and to-do lists

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 14:32:00 PDT

This time, Rafe and Josh's favorite apps for keeping track of stuff. Also, we answer questions on Synergy, domain names, waking up snoozing Macs, calendar apps for Thunderbird, and more.

Thanks to Tales (from the chat room) for saving our bacon!

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Our favorite to-do list and reminder apps:

Evernote and Onenote for "capturing your brain."

To-do lists:

For groceries:

Listener recommendation:

Over the past several weeks, I have been using ToodleDo. It has an exhaustive list of features (like sorting, search, folders, tags, contexts, etc., but where it really shines is it's integration with other applications. While the web app is perfectly capable, utilizing it with Appigo's ToDo or the official ToodleDo app on the iPhone, as well as accessing all of my tasks in Google calendar and adding tasks via Gmail or quickly checking them through a Chrome extension, really makes it worthwhile. Similar to Evernote, it uses a freemium model. One of the coolest features of a paid subscription is the printable booklet that you can customize and slip in your wallet. Of course, nothing is perfect and my biggest complaint about the service is the complicated nature of editing multiple tasks at once (you must do a search, then click "multi-edit", then make your changes and manually check off each field you want to change.) Overall, I prefer ToodleDo over RTM, TaDaList, and Outlook. Anyway, thank you for doing an inspiring, fun show every week!

Michael from Chicago

------------------------

QUESTIONS:

Tom and Rafe got me clued in on using Synergy at work. I was hooked! It's fantastic! But now I've started having some trouble for some reason. Here's the setup:

I have a Mac (OS 10.6.3) and Windows (XP Professional SP2) machine side by side on my desk and use both all day long. I have the Mac set up as my primary host for keyboard and mouse but still have a keyboard and mouse plugged into the Windows machine for times when I do need to do prolonged work there. Most of the time I flip back and forth with the Mac. However, since our office got new iMacs a couple months ago I've started having trouble with copy and paste not always working across the machines. I'll go to copy text out of an Outlook email on Windows using the Mac mouse and try to bring it over to paste and nothing happens. My old setup had the Windows keyboard and mouse as host and I didn't have any problems. Is there a bug that you guys know of that could be causing this?

Holly in NYC (hollyhock on Twitter and in CNET chat)

Rafe: I use Synergy with a Windows laptop as host and Macbook as client, meaning that I'm using the Windows machine's keyboard to control both computers. Here's the thing with cut and paste between machines: You can only do it from the host keyboard, and the copy/paste commands are different between Mac and Win. So when I want to, say, copy text from my Mac to my PC on Synergy, I have to use Alt-C on the Windows keyboard to fake out the Mac to think I'm pressing Command-C, since the Win kb has no Command key. Then back on the Windows laptop, I have to shift my pinky over to the control key to press cntrl-v to paste. Inelegant, but you get used to it. Or use right-click! http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/

BTW, Synergy rocks, even if it is a bear to set up. See also Synergy Plus, which I have not used: http://code.google.com/p/synergy-plus/

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I have another Mac question for you guys. I have a 2007 black MacBook and the hard drive died on me about a month or two ago. It was very upsetting, but I managed to replace it with a Western Digital Scorpio Black 320 GB 7200 RPM drive. It was painless and an excellent alternative to the Seagate Vibrator drives you and Tom installed in yours. I'm concerned about breaking this one as well, however. I'm very anal about my data and about protecting my privacy and such. Therefore, I often use password protected dmg's and I also use Secure Empty Trash every time I delete a file. This writes zeros over my deleted data, providing me with some level of protection against recovery, however, I'm afraid that all the extra data writing might cause undue wear and tear on the hard drive. Is this something I ought to be worried about, or do I still have a few years of being OCD about my MacBook? Thanks guys!

-Greg from Pennsylvania-

Rafe: Relax. Using encryption or other disk utils won't hasten your HD's demise. When it's time for it to go, it will just go.

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I'm thinking of starting up a website. I listened to the real deal ep.198. I got a lot of great info, however i'm just a little confused on one aspect of the whole thing. I want my website to have a personal url, not a cookie cutter url like www.name.squarespace.com(i'm considering square space). Im wondering if I should buy a dns or should I go for the pro-package at square space which includes a custom url. I am also confused on what a dns is. Any help would be great.

Solid Schuyler (skyler)

Josh: If you don't know what you're doing, I'd say start out with a paid service that handles all that stuff for you. You can always move on with another host and move everything later on. The key thing is to just hold on to that domain name.

------------------------

I am looking for some help with my Mac. I have a 13" MacBook Pro running Snow Leopard and I have recently started using it to stream music to my living room stereo and video to my Xbox 360 (using Airport Express and the app Playback, respectively). These are working very well, but I do find it a bit tedious to have to run to my laptop and wake it up before I can stream any data. I have read that there is an auto-wake feature if an Airport base station is being used, but my cable/internet provider has told me that they will not support that device and that I can only use their router equipment. Am I out of luck, or is there a way to wake my computer from afar? Thanks in advance.

Ross from Baltimore

Your mac has a built-in Wake On Lan feature, as do most all PCs. You just have to turn it on in the system preferences panel. To actually activate it, you send a special command to that Mac with a Python or Perl script. Or you can do the sensible thing and download Wake 550 (http://www.tc.umn.edu/~olve0003/wake550.html) or ReadPixel's Wake On Lan http://www.readpixel.com/wakeonlan/, both of which are a Mac apps. This means you have to use another computer to do this.

The big caveat here is that unless you do have that late-2008 to present Airport Express, Time Capsule, or Airport Extreme base station, you cannot do the wireless wake on LAN, which would be able to turn on your macs without them being plugged in with an ethernet cable.

You could also just set your machine to spin down the hard disks and put the display to sleep so that you never actually turn it off.

Tales adds: Check out Wake on Lan over the Internet.

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Phone question: Calendar app for Thunderbird?

A: See Lightning

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COMMENTS

I have the most current iteration of the ipod touch and I sadly have the same issue -- with the headphone going one sided. MORE than likely the owner wrapped the headphones around the device for storage. I did the same thing and was told in apple speak that I was hosed. The headphone jack is hard wired to the logic board so if you wrap the headphones around it disengages (in my case) part of the headphone connection.

I lost the left side speaker. It's not a software thing -- it's a oops I broke my device issue. Patiently waiting for the next ones so I can get a deal on an old one.

jake - Fullerton, CA

CNET to the Rescue: Androidpalooza

Wed, 26 May 2010 16:19:00 PDT

This week on CNET to the Rescue: it's all Android, all the time. Pretty much, anyway. Tons of questions from listeners on how to make Android work better, and if you should bother at all. Plus, the Mystery of the Silent Pre--solved!

Listen now: Download today's podcast

First, a road test:
Josh's Android road test--devices, apps, newbie tips.

Best apps?
Josh says check out Soundhound, Evernote of course, the Twitter app, Meebo, and PhoneTell. Apps like PDAnet, which give you Wi-Fi tethering, will be outdated by Android 2.2.

There are a bunch of top app lists from places like Lifehacker, TechRepublic, and Techland.

Android Questions
I am a Sprint customer and am going to make the move from the Pre to the Evo, having never used Android OS before. Can you suggest some helpful tips and/or blogs where I can find useful info for someone who is a beginner with this operating system?
--Jennifer

Josh: For sure. If you're buying an EVO, HTC has actually programmed in a walkthrough the first time you boot up the phone. They do this on all their phones that have Sense, which is big skin HTC installs on top of the OS. This will show you how to type on the keyboard and select text, as well as a few other things.

If you want to go a bit beyond that Google has, a number of good walkthroughs on YouTube go through Android basics like managing contacts, buying and searching for apps, using the browser, adding widgets to the homescreen. The list goes on.

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I currently have a Motorola Droid and will be ponying up the cash to upgrade to the HTC Incredible. I'd love to see y'all show how to migrate from one Android device to another. BlackBerries and iPhones have dirt simple migration tools, but how is that handled with Android since there isn't a desktop app that assists in migration?
--Sloan, The Chief Geek

Josh: Good news is that Android has some very rudimentary back-up built right in. When you do a complete wipe or hop to another phone, all you have to do is head over to the Android Marketplace app on your phone, and all the apps you've purchased will be there for re-downloading. It also syncs up things like contacts, e-mail accounts, and Wi-Fi passwords. But, if you want it exactly like it was on your current phone, there are three major apps on the Android Marketplace that can get the job done.

My top pick is MyBackup Pro. You can use it free for 30 days before having to pony up the $5 it costs. It backs up everything, and works on every version of Android. It can back up all your data to an SD card, or MyBackup's servers (featured here).

Other options include Sprite Backup 2.0, which does the same thing but costs $5 up front, as well as Titanium Backup, which is totally free and has gotten rave reviews but requires that your Android phone is rooted, which I'm assuming isn't.

Another good bit of news on this is that at I/O, Google announced a new API for developers that will let them send user data and settings to Google for safe keeping, so when a user re-installs that app, there will be the option to sync all of it back, like some apps already do. Expect a lot of developers to be building this functionality into their apps.

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Could you find a way to browse the Android store without an Android device?
--iYaz

Josh: Google has its own online directory of apps (http://www.android.com/market/#app=com.epocrates), which is fairly meager at the moment but due to get better in the next few months. Last week at I/O, Google showed off the next version of that site, which will include things like search and a "send to device" button that pushes app downloads straight to your phone.

Otherwise, there are a bunch of Android app directory sites out there. AndroidLib is one. There's also MPlayIt, which is actually an app within Facebook; AndroidApps360; AndroidTapp; and, of course, CNET's Download.com. One thing you're going to want to install, if you haven't already is a barcode-reading app to scan whatever QR codes are on the screen on these places. My personal recommendation for that is Barcode Scanner.

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Is Flash ready for prime time on Android mobile platforms? i.e. how much patience must we have to run with Flash?
--marsofearth

Josh: No, that's why they call it beta. But it does work. You just need a new phone.

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I have this nagging misunderstanding when it comes to changing carriers on the same phone. Could you explain all the pitfalls and nooks when it comes to changing carriers--especially when you are traveling?
--CJ, Super Consumer

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Could you please let me know how to best make cheap international calls on Android (I'm in the U.K. if that makes any difference)?

I tried Nimbuzz (uses Skype credit), but it didn't work very well.

Currently I'm using an app called Fring, which uses my Skype credit to make calls. It's usually good on Wi-Fi and sort of OK on 3G if you're desperate. But overall not very user friendly and sometimes buggy.

I heard Vopium is cheaper and better than the above, but user reviews are bad.

Makes you wonder why Skype doesn't put together a good app!

Thanks,
Khaled

A: Try Google Voice?

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What are some android features that will only work inside the U.S. (i.e. not in Canada)? I believe turn-by-turn directions will not work, as well as Google Voice. Is this true and can you think of any others?
--Caley

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I'm going to be getting the Evo 4G from Sprint on the 4th of June and I was wondering if there is a program to sync all my music and videos from my computer to my Evo? Will Windows Media Player work just fine? Or do I need some thing different?
--Jon From Wisconsin

A: Answers: 1. Just mount the drive. 2. DoubleTwist

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Today's money-saving tip:
Risers for your laptops. mStand from Rain Design if money is no object. But do something to get your laptops off the tabletop, even if just a few inches. Trust me on this. -Rafe

Comments
I just finished listening to Episode No. 1 of CNET to the Rescue and I have an answer for your listener's Palm Pre problem. He had plugged speakers into the headphone jack and then lost the ability to use the built-in speaker when making calls. This happened to me a few weeks ago and the Sprint store I took it to told me that my mistake was using headphones with it, even though they are included in the box! A hard reset actually didn't help since it is a simple hardware issue and I solved it by peeling back some of the cotton from a Q-Tip so it could fit into the headphone jack and then just using it to clean the jack. Strange solution, but it totally worked.
--misha

Episode 11: No matter where you go, here we are

Episode 10: Cubicle defense

Episode 9: Video editors

Episode 8: Keyboards!

Episode 7: Road trip road test

Episode 6: What to get after E3

Episode 5: Atomic clocks, hybrid storage

Episode 4: Flip that phone

Episode 3: Reminders and to-do lists

Episode 2: Androidpalooza