Thanks to all the people who have sent messages of support and congratulations prior to the show even starting – It makes all the effort worthwhile.
And thanks to the callers tonight, especially those we couldn’t get to. Below are the podcast and show notes with any relevant links.
Enter http://yourtechlife.com/xml/podcast/yourtechlife.xml into your podcast program – or search for Your Tech Life on iTunes
Show Notes – 29/10/09
Caller Jimmy
Bought Elderly Mother three different Cordless Phones. Previous phone (Analogue Cordless) worked great, but it was left in the rain.
Loud Hissing Crackling, Drops in and out.. All tried are digital, have tried the base station in other areas, have tried cheap ones and expensive ones.
Emailer Patrick suggests to check the socket in the wall for corrosion, some wet-n-dry paper to clear it out might help.
Emailer Al suggests a Site Survey Tool: http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/c240/ which might find things like baby monitors etc. While Jimmy’s mum might not have a baby monitor, there could be one close by in the neighbours – worth checking.
“Probably have other 2.4ghz things interfearing. Try a site survey tool.. change the frequency or part of the spectrum the uniden is sitting on. Find a quiet part of the spectrum. I have a “wispy” http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/c240/ .. lets you see what else is on the spectrum, not just 802.11abgn traffic. Things like baby monitors, phones, wireless cameras. It was very useful. Also look at your signals for wifi.. channels overlap. Eg.. 1+2 overlaps 3+4 overlaps. 2+3 overlaps, 1+3 does not. They are next to each other and are interleaved. it’s public spectrum, pretty crowded in some areas.”
Caller Marina
Having Trouble downloading some things on the internet. Security settings won’t allow this file to be downloaded. Have tried Internet Options and Security Options.
Suggested Marina disable all Windows Security – Firewall and Anti Virus, and also turn off Norton Security. If that works, then the problem is one of those two.
I that doesn’t work, try Firefox browser – http://www.getfirefox.com
See if that helps with the downloads.
Caller Peter
Has a high end Nokia N95, has been offered an iPhone by his Telco. Keen to hear what might be a comparison.
Peter is happy that his current phone syncs with his outlook for contacts, mail and calendar. Peter also used to have an o2 Atom, with a stylus.
With that in mind, and knowing Peter doesn’t SEND a lot of emails from his device, I recommend he get the iPhone – a great device, with so much more inside.
Mobile Phone Recycling Survey (in Podcast @ 14:00)
I mentioned a survey by Sony Ericsson regarding Australian’s use of Mobile Phone recycling. The full survey is here
Caller Linda
Has an Apple Mac, 2 years old. Has a lot of movies, shows and songs. Her hard drive is filling up. Linda has purchased a terabyte External Hard drive. However after backing things up, when she deletes things from the hard drive it seems to delete from the External Drive too! Linda had been using Time Machine but has started manually moving the files.
I suggested given Linda has an Apple Laptop, that she put the files on the External hard drive – then connect that Hard Drive to the Laptop to verify that the files are on the external drive, then while it is disconnected from the original Mac, delete the files on the Computer.
Apple have been in touch and will be contacting Linda to ensure she gets ‘Apple Genius’ assistance with her problem
Caller Ziggy
A big fan of the HTC mobile platform, uses Tom Tom turn by turn navigation, and glad that doesn’t use any data.
Concerned about the amount of data being used by some phones, and things like the lack of a swappable battery and inability to expand the memory on the iPhone.
In the end, Smartphones are a personal choice and you should do as much research before buying.
I also suggest people get Insurance for expensive Smartphones.
Question from Emailer Matt in Gosford:
hey trevor, is there an insurer for mobile phones that just insures with out having to in with them for a phone contract as well. Thanks matt
If anyone knows of one – please let me know.
Flip Video (in Podcast @ 21:30)
The official launch of the Flip Video handheld recorder was held in Sydney during the show. I have done a review of the Flip Video on my SBS Blog, and it’s well worth checking out.
A great device, and a good Christmas gadget gift suggestion.
Emailer Karen from Quakers Hill
Looking for a tradesman phone – is there one on the Market.
Suggestions from listener: a Rugged case for a Blackberry: http://www.blackberrystore.com.au/shop/itemDetail.aspx?itemID=271
I would think there might be similar accessories for other phones? Check it out.
Twitter Costing the Economy
Discussion around the ‘cost of twitter’ in terms of lost productivity – I believe there could be a survey a day that finds in favour and against this daily.
While it’s not good to be on it all day, in these days when lunch breaks are short, and often at the desk, we should accept that it helps keep people relaxed to be involved in social activity like twitter while at work.
Caller Bob
Has a Plasma TV. His Pay TV is working ok, however his Thomson Set Top Box for Digital TV is not working.
The screen on the front which normally shows the channel is flickering.
Suggested Bob look to see if there is a reset button which can be accessed with an unfolded paperclip to reset the device to factory defaults.
Unfortunately, short of that, it’s not a great look.
Also suggest if Bob does need to replace it, look at spending the dollars on a FREEVIEW branded box, which will ensure long term compatibility with TV technology in Australia
Suggestion from Emailer Zelko:
I just heard a caller with a set top box that DIED… same symptoms as your previous caller. I had the same problem and was told it would be cheaper to throw away and buy a new one than to repair. I opened it up and found there are two circuit boards, one with the tunner and one with the power supply, The circuit board with the power supply had a swoler Capacitor, I changed it and it is working beautifully. Total cost 35c
Might be a bit tough, but maybe give it a go Bob!
Caller June
Using Outlook Express to access Hotmail. In the last month, cannot SEND mail using Outlook Express via Hotmail.
Has checked the settings, however I recommend a full check of the SMTP configuration.
Here is the link to the full Hotmail instructions:
I suggest in particular these areas:
• In the Incoming mail (POP3, IMAP, or HTTP) server box, type pop3.live.com
• In the Outgoing mail (SMTP) server box, type smtp.live.com
Make sure that the Log on using Secure Password Authentication (SPA) check box isn’t selected.
In the Outgoing mail (SMTP) box, type 25 or 587.
• Under both Outgoing mail (SMTP) and Incoming mail (POP3), select the This server requires a secure connection (SSL) check box.
Portable Digital TV (in Podcast @ 33:10)
There is a great new portable TV available from LASER – Read my blog on this at SBS
Great device – well worth checking out
Caller Gay
Using a video player called GOM player – I’ve not heard of GOM, but Gay has an issue where the movie will play once normally, and then if he comes back and wants to re-play the movie it doesn’t play correctly – has a green shade over it.
Suggest Gay uses Real Player or Windows Media player and find codec’s to install with that player for the type of movies you are watching.
Caller Rod
Purchased a HD TV, and will be getting a Blu-Ray player.
However, concerned about the price of HDMI cables, one was quoted over $300.
Rod simply curious if there is a difference.
Suggest Rod goes for a $30 cable, if the Blu-Ray and TV are close.
If there is a lot of equipment in the same area, look for shielded cabling, which may cost more, but you won’t notice a marked difference between the $30 or $300.
Caller Jennifer
Has a Digital Cordless telephone with Answering Machine. Wants to keep some messages for ever.
No perfect way to do it, in the end the best suggestion is to get a good quality recorder to simply hold up to the machine to record them.
