Youngstown Computer Show Notes May 23, 2009

Segment 1

Poll: would you pay for news on the internet?

Caller 1
Q: tried to buy and download a song from walmart.com, now I can't get on the internet.
A: check out that you were not infected with something. you can bring it in to the shop to check it out

A little girl in New Zeleand bought a earth mover. http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10247857-2.html

　
Segment 2

Caller 2
Q: have a digital camera, trying to making a DVD from the movies on the camera, it says to "insert disk" but it does not work. she has a sony cybershot camera
A: XP does not come with a DVD authoring program, try something like Sony Vegas.

Caller 3
Q: how did ActiveX factor into making my computer real slow?
A: you might have some programs that are interfering with each other, perhaps you need more memory, there might be more than one reason, try not to use the online fix-it programs.

What is ActiveX? ActiveX controls are extensions that a web browse can load in to extend web pages. Like Flash player, which allows you to watch videos in the browser, is an activeX control.

Caller 4
Q: mouse seems to be sticking
A: get a new optical mouse
　

Segment 3

What is clickjacking? When you click on a site but you go somewhere else. They create inline frames that make it look like the links are from the site you are at.

Caller 5
Q: if I put 2 gig of ram on the motherboard, then nothing works, one gig will work though
A: if there is not a problem with the motherboard, maybe one of the ram sticks might be bad.
discussion about installing RAM

Caller 6
Q: videos don't work right on the web, they stop after a while
A: the video has to buffer, try to just start the video, then pause it and wait
Q: can the old windows updates be deleted?
A: just leave them on.

　
Segment 4

Discussion about how people call hard drives "memory", but that is not correct. Hard drives are considered long-term storage.

Discussion of ReadyBoost. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReadyBoost

Caller 7
Q: can you give me some info about Avast anti-virus?
A: it is a free anti-virus, it seems to be ok, but you have to keep re-registering every month

Caller 8
Q: I only seem to have one usb that works on the motherboard
A: we have seen this before, it seems that the motherboard might be bad.　

Youngstown Computer Show Notes for May 2 2009

Segment 1

Last week's poll: http://jdany.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/034

Windows 7 might be out on October 23 this year -- http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9132464

This week's poll: http://jdany.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/035 -- Will you move to Windows 7?

Joe Danyi getting started on facebook

Getting started with classes for the spring and summer. Please let us know what you want to learn.


Segment 2

Talking about the Psystar Mac clone back in the courts -- http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/05/01/apple_says_psystar_holding_back_info_in_mac_clone_legal_case.html

Talking about Google is getting sued due to the name Android trademark -- http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/05/01/google_android_trademark/

Talking about how a guy learned how to deliver a baby from a youtube video -- http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-10231586-71.html

Talking about Vista parental controls -- http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/features/parental-controls.aspx


Segment 3

Caller 1
Q: My Internet froze up, who should I call, AT&T or my computer maker?
A: usually call AT&T for those type of problems

Caller 2
Q: want to print out a puzzle from Parade's web site, but it has a background that takes lots of ink, can I print it out without the background?
A:

Caller 3
Q: excel is not printing out lines, how do I turn it on
A: use print preview, and use the print options to turn them on

Caller 4
Q: how can I share one printer with two computers
A: there are auto USB switchboxes, or you can share the computer over the network, hook the printer to just one, and right click the printer and choose share

Caller 5
Q: how do i turn off the vista sidebar?
A: there is a small icon that allows you to turn it off. you can even go to properties and tell it not to start up


Segment 4

Adam asks for advice for new graduates.

More features of vista parental controls

Conficker has infected some hospital devices -- http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10226448-83.html

Talking about different categories of viruses -- http://arstechnica.com/security/news/2004/11/malware.ars
spyware=something that tracks you or steals passwords or records keystrokes
adware=creates pop-ups
malware=lies to you or tricks you

Youngstown Computer Show Notes for April 25 2009

Segment 1

Conficker virus starts to be active: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2345917,00.asp

Last week's poll: http://jdany.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/033

Discussion about the price of Macs vs. PCs

This week's poll: are you energy concious: http://jdany.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/034


Segment 2

More talk about macs vs PCs, gamers don't use Macs.

Discussion about facebook and twitter.


Segment 3

Caller 1
--talking about how he uses MySpace to promote bands and festivals

Caller 2
Q: calling from Florida, can receive mail but can't send email, he is using Armstrong
A: if you are out of state, you might not be able to send out email because it is only for local customers.

Caller 3
Q: cleaned up my computer from a virus, but explorer.exe is not starting,
A: try making a new profile, see if that new profile works, otherwise is might be a registry problem

Caller 4
Q: computer does not want to start up this morning
A: do some basic troubleshooting, but it sounds like a blown power supply

Caller 5
--you can send mail through Armstrong's web mail service

Caller 6
Q: my laptop cannot connect to the internet unless I place it next to the router
A: it seems that your computer for some reason is trying to connect to another wireless network that happens to be stronger at your location. try removing all wireless profiles and renaming your wireless network

Caller 7
Q: the computer seems to take 15 minutes to get into windows, has a weird "USBd" message
A: you will probably need to bring that in to check it out


Segment 4

Update on the Niles store: AT&T did not show up to hook up service, so we cancelled and went with VOIP from Time-Warner

Will have a boot camp for novices probably first weekend of May at the new store.

Youngstown Computer Show Notes for April 18 2009

Segment 1

Last show's poll: http://jdany.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/032, it was the biggest response of any poll so far, what won was fines equal to damages.

The fallout of the conficker virus. Paralells between cybercrimes and real-world crimes.


Segment 2

This week's poll: http://jdany.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/033, why don't you own a Mac?

Facebook to make money? http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-18438_7-10222191-82.html

Pirate Bay got busted: http://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/musik/fredrik-soderling-the-pirate-bay-sentence-is-surprisingly-harsh-1.846920

Psystar - selling Mac clones: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/16/psystar-open-3-manages-to-ship-gets-unboxed-by-lucky-customer/


Segment 3

Caller 1
Q: trying to replace hard drive, but it won't recognize the new hard drive
A: try a different cable, or try a different machine, sounds like a bigger problem, so call the office

New office shaping up in Niles: 25 Main st.

Caller 2
Q: my computer is running really slow, I tried to reinstall windows with the restore CD, but it does not seem to "accept it"
A: first, try to see if it really is infected, check the process list to see what is taking up too much CPU. you can also try to hit F12 when you boot up, to choose what device to boot from

Caller 3
Q: on my laptop, I can't get it to power up, the power light flashes 3 times
A: you did all the right steps, it sounds like the video card is shot

What is Ian's last name? Bergmeyer, or Bergie!

Caller 4
Q: can't delete messages on Gmail?? on an iMac?
A: the old web browser on OS9 is probably not supported anymore, there is a slower HTML-only version that might work


Segment 4

We are big fans of Firefox, there is an add-in called IE tabs, that allows you to run IE in a tab for sites that won't work with Firefox. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1419

Macs are not immune, there appears to be a Mac botnet: http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=25756

Still looking for a new tech for the Niles store, please send resumes to joe@youngstowncomputer.com

25 Golden Rules of E-mail

Before there was the web, there was e-mail. Some people still haven't figured it out. Here's a list of 25 things that you should know about e-mail.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2344692,00.asp

Youngstown Computer Show Notes for April 4 2009

Segment 1

Last week's poll: http://jdany.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/031

This week's poll: http://jdany.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/032 What should be done with virus authors?

Chat room today! See link on website http://www.youngstowncomputer.com/chat.htm

The conficker virus did not do any damage on April 1st, despite the hype.

Caller 1
Q: computer tech that came to fix my computer, removed mcaffee and put on avast. is this a problem?
A: avast is not bad, if you control your behavior, you will be ok. norton 2009 seems to be the best right now.


Segment 2

Talking about different anti-virus products to use in different situations

Caller 2
Q: his friend has DSL but cannot connect. what can they do?
A: you have to run the setup CD first to activate the modem, so check that first. then check to see if the filters are correctly installed

Caller 3
Q: has a dial-up connection, got SP2 from her daughter, how can I do SP3?
A: SP3 is going to be larger, so you should have someone else download it for you
Q: any news about more broadband to rural areas?
A: the costs are higher, maybe when they start rolling out 4G networks, the president also has broadband plans

Caller 4
Q: got a flash drive full, so I moved off the pictures, but the system still says it is full, yet there are no files appearing
A: there might be some hidden files, the quickest way is to just format the drive


Segment 3

Status report on new niles office, looking for a new computer tech

Caller 5
Q: should I leave a computer off after a few hours of use, then turn it on later on in the day?
A: it is just a matter of personal perference, recommend to let the computer go into sleep mode during periods of no use
Q: any notes about IE8? it seems to take a long time to load, of course I have an older P4 1.5Ghz
A: Ian seems to like it ok, it seems faster than IE7
adam asks should we download IE8 now? Ian kind of likes it, it is more standards compliant.

Caller 6
Q: some software is not running unless I take off the "spyware"?
A: some anti-virus software does block some internet access software like web cams, so you might have to disable your anti-spryware to have the webcam work

In Europe, the people blocked the Google street view. You can have pictures removed from streetview if you submit a complaint, so it is easy enough to protect your privacy. http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/03/angry-british-villagers-block-google-street-view-car-incident-c/


Segment 4

when you run a conficker removal tool on vista, you need to run as admin

Caller 7
Q: I tried this removal tool, but it seemed to be running too long
A: it might run about 45 minutes
Q: on AOL dial-up, for some reason, it says we are always not protected, we have to always click "to fix"
A: you probably should upgrade to a better product like norton 2009

Caller 8
Q: got a umbuntu dual boot system, the initial install was ok, but it is not stable, can I change the default boot to XP instead?
A: in the system, administration, there should be a option for the boot manager, then you can tell which partition to be the default.

Youngstown Computer Show Notes for Mar 28, 2009

Segment 1

Last week's poll: http://jdany.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/030

This week's poll: How much do you rely on email? http://jdany.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/031

Caller 1
Q: can't get the start menu, or start page, when I click on "owner" to log in, nothing happens
A: hold down F5 to go into safe mode, then see if things work, it can get complicated if things are really messed up, then you should go to get the computer serviced.

Phone poll: when you call in, we will ask you if you are exclusively cell phone, or voip, or land-line


Segment 2

article from John C. Dvorak: email is dead? http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2343209,00.asp
1. ever-changing address
2. spam
3. empty box?
4. email tourist
5. useless filter

Computer pranks for April fools
- try hitting Ctrl-alt-down to flip the screen upside down

Caller 2
Q: have anti-virus for his apple, but it has run out. anything to get?
A: we will check with Ian to see what he reccommends
Q: to clean, use disk utility, repairing permissions, is there a way to get rid of temp files
A: try just going and clearing the cache in the internet browser

Caller 3
Q: when I plugged in the magic jack, MacAffe it said I was not protected, it said the "register" is open?
A: you do have to open your firewall to let magic jack work


Segment 3

virus to execute on April 1? conficker
To protect yourself:
1. turn off autoplay, that will stop the virus from spreading
2. make sure you have the latest patches from windows update
3. get an anti-virus software
4. and make sure it has the updated definitions

another prank
- mess up the auto-correct settings in Word or other word processor on your co-worker's machine

Caller 4
Q: I got a message from verizon breifcase, it is going away, what does this mean?
A: it sounds like you have some sort of on-line backup, run a restore to a local drive to get your files off of there, then you can cancel it.


Segment 4

Caller 5
Q: the battery for my laptop doesn't hold a charge, it that a problem with the battery
A: it seems a little soon for the battery to go, but that is what happens eventually

Caller 6
Q: talking about techonolgies
Paul Pantone - fuel technology
Rex research
Tesla Tech
A: we will look into those

http://kineticresume.com/: try out to make your resume to network yourself

another prank:
- download clippy prank program, make your own text file with questions to have clippy ask
http://www.youngstowncomputer.com/files/clippy.zip

Spring Cleaning your PC and other gadgets

Here is a series of articles that give some helpful tips to do some spring cleaning on your PC and other tech gadgets.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2343264,00.asp

How To Buy a Cheap Desktop PC

Here is an article from pcmag.com that discusses how to buy a new PC for $500 or less. They also review some promising candiates.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2343538,00.asp

Youngstown Computer Show Notes for Mar 14, 2009

Youngstown Computer Show
March 14, 2009


Segment 1

Story on NYC 24-hour crackdown on driving while on cell phone, 9000 tickets
http://www.nypost.com/seven/03132009/news/regionalnews/nypd_cell_phone_crackdown_yields_thousan_159415.htm

Last week's poll: http://jdany.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/027

This week's poll: http://jdany.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/028 Are you interested in giving Linux a try?

Are white pages still needed?
http://www.slate.com/id/2187035/

Super-charging batteries
http://techblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/03/fast-charging-battery-2-3-year.html

Taking calls about Linux with Ian today.


Segment 2

Special guest today: Ian talks about Linux
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux


Segment 3

Question from Adam: What is your favorite Distro?
Ian: runs 3 distros, rccommends Umbuntu

Do we need printed phonebooks anymore?

New updates for the iPhone: tethering available (rumored), MMS, copy/paste

Caller 1
Q: there is a program called newcatch that will open up quicken files
A: yes, there are lots of replacements for PC programs

Google is revitalizing their Grand Central product it bought. https://www.google.com/voice/about


Segment 4

Question from Adam: I'm running out of room on my windows partition, how can I get more room?
You will need to resize some partitions and move things around

Caller 2
Q: how much to fix a power jack on a laptop?
A: we will have to complely break down the laptop, usually costs about $200

Caller 3
Q: my computer does not seem to be able to handle video editing of home videos to get them from a hi-8 camera to DVD, what can I do to make this easier?
A: try saving smaller clips from the camer, that will make it easier to work with. You got a dazzle external capture device, try to get a PCI card or firewire device, try pinnacle products

Looking at a new space in Niles, looking at having a home theater seminar, operation Java is still coming.

Next Meeting March 17 2009

The next meeting will be on March 17, at 7:00 pm at the Canfield Prebyterian chrurch.

Some things we will talk about:

• Vice President Dick Wilson will show off his new Flip Video camera.
• I'm going to talk about using Google more effectively. More than any time before, the Google search page is usually the first place to look for stuff on the Internet. I think it is worth it to go back and look at how you are using Google, and how you can use it better. We'll look at simple things you can do to search better, then we will look at the more advanced things you can do with Google search.

Check our web site at http://mahccc.blogspot.com for additional items that are posted between meetings.

As always, we will also try and answer any other computer questions you may have. I hope to see you there!

Youngstown Computer Show Notes for Mar 7, 2009

Youngstown Computer Show
March 7, 2009

Segment 1

Last Week's poll: http://jdany.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/026

This Week's poll: http://jdany.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/027
You pet peeves for tech support calls.

Poker tournament tonight.

Tech support tips:
1. pick your times -- pick the time you think that it is less busy
2. do all the logical things on your side first
3. gather up the info for the computer
4. make sure your important stuff is already backed up!
5. get your computer connected to the internet before you call
6. pay attention to where you are in the phone menu trees
7. verify that you are indeed talking to the right department
8. share all the troubleshooting steps you have done already
9. as they are doing stuff, if you object with what they are doing, LET THEM KNOW!
10. if you have to ship stuff back, make sure you back up data, and don't send stuff like cables or external devices unless they specifically ask for them.


Segment 2

Caller 1
Q: got two computers, but how do I get the wireless internet on both?
A: you do have to set up the wireless routers before they work, you will have to get the settings correct first.

Caller 2
Q: how to password a folder so that someone would have to enter in a password?
A: you could use the different windows accounts to create separate users and they have their own set of folders

Caller 3
Q: what should I look for in a laptop? for just small business use
A: you don't need a quad tier, just go for a dual core, get enough memory, for vista get at least 2 GB of ram. a core 2 duo, 4GB of RAM, 500 GB of hard disk is great

Windows update restarting your computer without your permission? We will cover this next.


Segment 3

Tech support call this morning was to just send in a laptop to replace the touchpad.
Article in CNET about testing Norton 360. They were offered to have a symantec professional install the software correctly for and additional charge of $80. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2342634,00.asp {Actually the article was from PC Magazine. They were trying to install Norton 360 on an already infected machine. --JoeM}

Caller 4
Q: when playing an online game, it says to clear out the browser cache. is that safe?
A: yes, that is a normal thing to do. you shouldn't have to re-install the browser except in very bad situations

Caller 5
Q: skype is starting up automatically on mac os
A: check the on-line knowledge base, or maybe uninstall it {Let me Google that for you: http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/2008/07/disable-skype-auto-start-on-mac.html -- JoeM}
Q: open office was re-installed and now it is slow starting up
A: there might be a bigger problem, like a hard drive or memory problems, download a test program

Kumo is a new search service by Microsoft that is in testing right now. Only available inside of microsoft. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10186108-56.html


Segment 4

Hulu.com to see Nick Burns the computer guy. http://www.hulu.com/watch/19050/saturday-night-live-nick-burns

Windows Update settings: you have four options, I reccommend the setting to automatically download but let you choose when to install them so that they don't interrupt your work.

Outlook Express and Windows Mail cannot handle mail files bigger than 2GB, so make sure you clean those out.

Youngstown Computer Show Notes for Feb 28 2009

Youngstown Computer Show
February 28, 2009

Segment 1

Last two weeks' poll: http://jdany.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/025

New game server at youngstown Computer: counterstrike server

New poll: keyboarding: What is your level of typing skill? http://jdany.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/026

Caller 1
Q: Chrome is crashing when trying to install flash
A: it might take several times, but it will eventually install, try to install the latest version of Chrome too

Amnesty Weekend: grab your computer and bring it into the shop today, there will be pizza too, and a Q&A session. Two sessions: 2:30-3:30 covering Windows, and 4:00-5:00 covering the internet.


Segment 2

More about the session: $75 for the session and cleaning

Magic Jack, how much is power is consumed because you have to keep your computer on all the time. $28 a year for a laptop, or $96 a year for a desktop.

FinallyFast.com, if you can't connect to the internet, then how can you get to finallyFast.com?

Poker night: http://youngstowncomputer.com/pokerhelp.htm

Caller 2
Q: got wireless, but it only seems to work fine at home, seems flakey at other hotspots
A: the best things to do is to remove all the stored profiles, except your home settings, so that there not a chance of having conflicting settings because other hot spots could be named the same.

Caller 3
Q: if the power goes out, do you need a UPS to keep 911 access?
A: yes, plus you have to power all your cable modem, router, etc to make sure your internet stays up

News articles on 4G rollout. 50-60Mpbs. Will be coming out in a few years.


Segment 3

SSID = the name of the wireless network

Tale of a hard drive seizing up, the platter would not spin, so they had to send away the drive to another place that has a clean room for about $800

Solid state hard drives: no moving parts. much more expensive

Caller 4
Q: gets a window that there is an execution engine error, how do i get rid of it
A: take a look at the event logs to see what program is causing that error

Caller 5
Q: is there a way to save your favorites from chrome so you can keep them for a reinstall
A: don't know off-hand, check google

Caller 6
Q: outlook express had a message that it needed to compact files
A: if you want to get the archive files back, try the import function {JoeM: I think that this is just normal message, no mails will be lost, there is nothing to import, it is just cleaning up unused space}


Segment 4

Caller 7
Q: any good free anti-spyware?
A: if you have good discipline, then the free ones are ok

Caller 8
Q: screen keeps scrolling/jumping
A: the problem might be with your monitor or video card, try another monitor

Caller 9
Q: laptop will not charge the battery, it won't recognize the battery
A: sounds like the battery needs to be replaced

Caller 10
Q: how to make a wireless network secure?
A: log into the router over the network, and set up a password on the wireles network setup section, each brand of router has slightly different set up screens.

Best Bang for the Buck PC with a Core i7

If you didn't know, the latest Intel CPU is call the i7. It is the successor to the very popular Core 2 chips. The guys at Extreme Tech tried to make a best bang-for-the-buck PC with the i7 CPU for under $1,200. They almost succeeded.

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2341244,00.asp

Next Meeting February 17 2009

Next: This meeting we will try to operate with out our President he is taking some additional training out of town to help him do a better job at his work.

We will go a little deeper into a program that Joe talked about once before, but I find out this is one of those programs that is really great.

I will go into a little more in detail to show you how to really use this to your advantage: Windows Movie Maker.

See you Tuesday
Dick Wilson

Youngstown Computer Show Notes for Feb 14 2009

Youngstown Computer Show
February 14 2009

Valentine's day backgrounds:
http://youngstowncomputer.com/images/vd1.jpg
http://youngstowncomputer.com/images/vd2.jpg
http://youngstowncomputer.com/images/vd3.jpg

This week's poll: What would you like to know more about: http://jdany.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/025

Poker during the breaks today:
http://74.219.220.138:8087/
choose head-to-head to play JoeD.
password = 570

Caller 1
Q: I have a computer that has Fat32 on the hard disk, but XP is running on there
A: XP can run on both. it was probably upgraded from WinME.
There can be some problems upgrading, but there are some built-in tools to help you convert.

Caller 2
Q: Can you make MP3s into a regular audio CD?
A: very simple, just tell your burning software to make an audio CD

Caller 3
Q: Question about google earth, put my address in and it came up very good, then I put in my neighbor's address about a quarter of a mile away, and it keeps coming up to my address. Is there something I can delete?
A: it is possible that the mapping software is mapping two address that are close enough to the same point on the map


Segment 2

For the caller from last week, there is now an article about how to make better google searches: http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?answer=136861

Caller 4
Q: Running XP, I have a word document in Microsoft office word, and I went to "save as" and I put it there, and then I went to "My Computer" , and then when I click on the D: drive, where I normally store stuff, I get a message the says "The selected drive is not in use, check to make sure a disk is in the drive" even if there is a disk is in there it is not letting me record to the disk.
A: sounds like something has changes in the way the packets are sent to that CD drive, I'm wondering if something else is linking to the D: drive like a flash drive or a card reader or something like that. I usually try to make a test folder on the drive to make sure that the drive is receiving data. I would check and see that another removable drive is not kicking the CD-rom drive to another letter that Word does not recognize.

What is RSS? Really Simple syndication: It is a way for web sites to publish new items, like articles, or pictures, or audio files (podcasts) or videos (video podcasts or vlogs). You just use an RSS reader to subscribe to these feeds which will let you know when something new is available without you having to view the site directly.

Everyone make a blog. We will collect the feeds and show them on the youngstown computer site.

Caller 5
Q: got the virtuMonde virus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vundo
A: this is the one of the toughest to get rid of. you will have to bring it into the shop to have it cleaned up.

Caller 6
Q: any reccommedations for a new laptop? do tax work, spreadsheets, etc. no gaming, but like a fast computer
A: Alienware has great, top of the line laptops. look at dell, HP, and alienware, compare what you get for the money.

Caller 7
Q: problem with an external hard drive. have about 850Gb of data, but I can't see any folders, but in DOS I can
A: don't know, please call the office


Segment 3

Bad advice from salespeople and tech support people:
Looking for video driver from Dell was told: you will have to replace your motherboard
running the restore disk, and they lost all of their stuff

Caller 8
Q: put in a new motherboard, but the restore disk will not get windows started
A: you will need to install windows from the windows install disk and get the correct drivers for the new motherboard, try different memory chips

Caller 9
Q: I tried to change the ink in a cannon printer, is there someone that could fix it?
A: it is possible to fix, but it is probably better to buy a new one


Segment 4

To improve your clicking speed, improve your mousing skills, try playing games, like this diner game on Yahoo games.

Soon to have a branch of Youngstown Computer in Austintown.

Caller 10
Q: converted my old movies to DVD, is there software to take an image from a DVD movie and just turn it into a picture that I can use for like a cd cover?
A: most capture software can do this, search download.com for programs that capture images from video. Adam recommends using Alt-printscreen to capture the image {however this might not work because video players usually use directX to play video, and those images will not show when you use the printscreen button -- JoeM}

Internet Cache - most internet browsers save pictures and all parts of web pages on your local computer to make loading of the web page faster the next time. Sometimes, if the site changes its pictures very often, to force your browser to ignore your cached data, use Ctrl-F5 to refresh from the internet.

The Ruckus service, which served lots of university campuses, has closed its doors.
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-college-online-music-service-ruckus-closes-down/

Bargain All-In-One Printers (via PCMag.com)

PC magazine has a list of some great savings on some all-in-one printers, if you are looking for a new one:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2340851,00.asp?kc=BG021209N-2

The 20 Best Free PC Games (via ExtremeTech.com)

Looking for some cheap entertainment? ExtremeTech has a list of 20 free games for your PC. I'm going to have to give some a try.

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2340696,00.asp

MCCC Next Meeting: February 17 2009

I tried to get a local person to come to our meeting and speak to us: Joe Danyi, he has a local radio program on Saturday afternoon. I called him 3 times and sent him an email. The result: he did not even call or say he didn't want to do it.

So if this is the way he answers his trouble calls I guess we don't need his help.

Next: This meeting we will try to operate with out our President he is taking some additional training out of town to help him do a better job at his work.

We will go a little deeper into a program that Joe talked about once before, but I find out this is one of those programs that is really great.

I will go into a little more in detail to show you how to really use this to your advantage: Windows Movie Maker.

See you Tuesday

Dick Wilson

Youngstown Computer Show Notes for Feb 7 2009

Segment 1

Last week's poll: http://jdany.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/018
This week's poll: Your Safety Zone, how much do you do online
http://jdany.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/019
Joe D had a bad week: car, furnace, GPS, laptop screen all failed
Joe D talks about his adventures about buying a new power cord for his GPS on bestbuy.com.

Youngstown Computer 330-259-7278, 71 Terrace St. Suite 104

Caller 1
Q: I can't play the eAudio books from the library on his iPod
A: try http://download.com , search for DRM stripper.

Segment 2
We don't advocate the use of DRM stripping software, however, that stuff is out there.

Caller 2
Q: how can I search better, for more focused searches?
A: there is an article about that we posted a while back, we will post it later.

Caller 3
Q: where is my email stored? locally or on the server? when I get a crash, I lose all my emails
A: you will have to see where msn stores your local mail folders and make sure you back those up

Caller 4
Q: when I copy my resume from Word to an online job application, all the formatting is messed up
A: try paste it into Notepad first, then copy and paste that into the web application. web apps usually cannot take bold, underlining, etc.

Caller 5
Q: he wants to take files from one computer to another
A: try using a flash drive, copy the stuff you want onto the flash drive, then put the flash drive into the new computer and copy the files to the new computer
All of your personal stuff is stored under "Documents and Settings\[username]" on XP, "users\[username]" on vista.

Weekly poker game: http://www.youngstowncomputer.com/pokerhelp.htm

Segment 3
Adam had a karaoke debut.

News:
Magic jack has had a lot of good reviews, but...as more people are getting into it, there are more problems. There is no call-in tech support. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2340417,00.asp
Joe D does not look at beta software, so he has not looked at Win 7 beta. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/default.aspx
IE 8 release candidate is out though, and he does seem to like it. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/beta/default.aspx

Caller 6
Q: my ISP says that I need a new driver, or uninstall/install it
A: this is a tough thing to troubleshoot, try another ISP to see if that is the problem

Caller 7
Q: your history thing? what were you saying about it?
A: yes, IE 8 has a privacy mode that turns off the history

Caller 8
Q: vista recovered to an earlier restore point, and now norton won't update itself, and the microphone won't turn on
A: Joe D thinks that there might be more than one problem, you should bring it into the shop


Segment 4

Apps on the iPhone.
http://pmsbuddy.com/
ipod stungun: Stun-O-Matic http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=301317579&mt=8
google latitude http://www.google.com/latitude/intro.html
http://supportyoungstown.com

Caller 9
Q: can't find an worksheet that I got as an attachment and worked on and saved, but I can't find it
A: go to the start ment and choose search or find, then search for the name or part of the name, you can also look in the contents, so look for something that you know is in the file and not in others. it is probably in the temporary files folder