It's our international show with an Australian phone, U.K. laptops for life and bandwidth troubles solved for a South African.
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Things We Crave
Non-G1 Android phone to hit Australia in January
First Look
Best of the Web
Quick Tip
Back up your DVDs to iTunes and your iPod
Your video calls
Charlie in South Africa sent a video about bandwidth metering. There are a lot of filtering programs out there meant for protecting children, but that can be used to password protect Internet access. For more advanced Internet control, try Traffic Shaper XP. I found it referenced in this article here. You could also try third-party firmware for the router like dd-wrt or Tomato.
Alex needed some help getting a printer connected to Vista to play nice with a Mac. Brian Tong recommended Bonjour for Windows, which allows a Windows machine to network easily with the Macs Bonjour networking protocol.
Roberto just wanted to say thank you for winning an iPod Touch on the Holiday Help Desk last Friday. Your very welcome Roberto!
Your calls
Steve called back with woes regarding his Actiontec router for Verizon Fios which constantly loses connection. Molly noted this is a common complaint of Fios users and suggested switching channels to see if you can avoid interference, and also suggested that Steven turn off his 2.4 GHz phone which may interfere with the Wi-Fi router. There's also a thread on DSLReports.com about other users trying to replace the Actiontec router.
You can use an old TV with component cables and 5.1 or optical audio just fine. The only video issue will be the lack of 1080p for high-definition content. But otherwise it will work well.
Want a good TV with 120Hz refresh rate? Take a look through our recommended top LCD TVs.
E-mail us!
Whether it's a regular text note, or a recorded video question, you can send it to cnetlive@cnet.com. Keep your videos to 15 seconds or less, post them to a Web site like Youtube, and then e-mail us the link.
Brian Cooley gives us the scoop on the LA Auto Show, we help you recover songs from a crashed iPod, and Bonnie Cha reviews the BlackBerry Storm.
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Things We Crave
Hands on with the new Xbox 360 dashboard
2010 Lexus RX gets update, new Remote Touch controller
First Look
Best of the Web
SearchMe and Google Voice Search.
Quick Tip
Stop MSN or Windows Live Messenger spam
Your video calls
Iyaz sent a video about stuttering problems in OS X Leopard. Brian Tong noted that many other users reported this problem on Apple's message boards. Some say they fixed it by downgrading from OS X 10.5.5 to plain old 10.5. Some even resorted by downgrading to 10.4. BT noted that some folks have found that switching from the audio jack to digital and back temporarily solves the problem.
Your calls
Our caller had some 40,000 slides to scan in. Using ScanCafe for example, that would cost over $9,000 if you send it to a service. WikiHow has a tutorial with eight different ways to attack this problem, including using a video camera. You could also adapt a flatbed scanner to scan slides, or a buy a scanner just for slides.
OS X can read files on NTFS hard drives but it can't write to them. Use Macfuse to make OS X capable of writing to NTFS hard drives.
To recover files off a dead iPod, you can try some revival methods. If those don't work, take the hard drive out of the iPod and put it in an enclosure. You'll need an enclosure for 1.8-inch Toshiba Drives, like this one. You could also buy an old iPod off eBay that has a good battery but a bad hard drive, and then transplant the good hard drive into it. Then if the drive is damaged, use some free software to recover the files. My favorites are photorec or PC Inspector.
Looking for a PC alternative to buying a MacBook? Take a look at our 5 Best laptops.
Our caller with the dead Audiovox LCD TV screen probably needs a new TV, but if he's willing to try to fix it himself, here's some guidance on fuse problems that could be helpful.
Holiday Help Desk!
Don't forget to watch the Holiday Help Desk, Friday, November 28 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT, at CNET TV. You could win an iPod Touch.
E-mail us!
Whether it's a regular text note, or a recorded video question, you can send it to cnetlive@cnet.com. Keep your videos to 15 seconds or less, post them to a Web site like Youtube, and then e-mail us the link.
We had problems. You kinda just need to watch. But we answered a lot of questions!
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Things We Crave
BlackBerry Storm gets official pricing and release date
Best of the Web
Your calls
Here's how to use GParted to resize your Windows Vista partition. Here's one of the reasons why resizing Vista partitions is an issue. And if the Vista repair above doesn't work, here's an Ubuntu forum thread on a workaround using a Windows XP disk.
Having problems with the T-Mobile G1's data access? It could be a coverage issue. Here's their coverage map.
Our take on the best MP3 players with Bluetooth.
Need to buy a digital TV converter box? Here's which ones to buy.
Need a bigger TiVo hard drive? Here's how to do it yourself or pay someone else to do it.
E-mail us!
Whether it's a regular text note, or a recorded video question, you can send it to cnetlive@cnet.com. Keep your videos to 15 seconds or less, post them to a Web site like Youtube, and then e-mail us the link.
A nice mix of questions today, including SATA drives that can't be formatted properly, how to run DVD backups on Apple TV, and more.
Watch the show on CNET TV.
First Look
Best of the Web
Insider Secrets
Create a multiroom iTunes music system
Discussion
Is Theora the video codec that will save us from the tyranny of video incompatibility? Your video calls
Rob's question: You can watch converted DVDs on Apple TV in several ways. Brian explained a way to use iTunes. You could also put them on an external drive, AppleTVHacks.net has a solution for that. Boxee is another solution, if you can get into the private beta.
Your calls
Looking for a good MP3 player for Linux? I like the Archos 605 WiFi, though it is a little bulky and pricier than the iPod Touch. You can use the iPod Touch with Linux, but it takes a little work. Here's a HowTo on syncing the iPod Touch with Linux.
Michael was having problems getting Windows to recognize all the bytes on his hard drive. Others who've faced this issue have had to tweak a registry setting to enable 48-bit LBA support. Here's a thread on Annoyances.org and another on Tech Support Guy that deal with this issue.
E-mail us!
Whether it's a regular text note, or a recorded video question, you can send it to cnetlive@cnet.com. Keep your videos to 15 seconds or less, post them to a Web site like Youtube, and then e-mail us the link.
We share some of our scariest tech stories involving the FBI, Rock Band, debit cards, and Windows 98.
Watch the show on CNET TV.
First Look
Download of the week
News
Take a ride in a modern Zeppelin
Your video calls
Franklin's questions: Tethering a Treo to a Mac?
Watch our video by Rich DeMuro and read this detailed step-by-step from PeachPit press.
Tim's questions: If I delete junk mail will the spam filter still work?
Yes. Here's the wikipedia article on how Bayesian filters combat spam.
Your calls
If you're having trouble uninstalling SmartDefrag, read this forum thread from IOBit's message boards. Then you may want to try Revo Uninstaller or CCleaner.
Want to start your own hot spot? You can buy a plan from a vendor like this one. Or you can try rolling your own with some free and open source software.
Brian C. pointed a caller with about 3,000 photos to high-speed scanners. He also pointed out ScanCafe as an example of a service that will do the scanning for you..
Should you get the Sony AW laptop or the HP HDX18? The HP's safer but if you can hold on, wait until we can get a full evaluation of the Sony, because even though the AW is more expensive, it's got killer specs.
To downgrade from Windows Vista to Windows XP, you need a legal version of XP, and you need to back up your data and format your hard drive. See John Wilkinson's excellent explanation in the Windows Vista forum at forums.cnet.com.
Want to stream your iTunes to your Internet connected receiver? Brian Tong recommends Airport Express.
And finally this from Vladimir, one of our engineers. "Just wanted to let you know that the menu-ing problem happening in Linux is actually NOT our fault. It's a problem with Flash 9 for Linux. The easy fix is to download and install Flash 10 which should take care of the issue.This was also answered on Mailbag from 10/21. "
E-mail us!
Whether it's a regular text note, or a recorded video question, you can send it to cnetlive@cnet.com. Keep your videos to 15 seconds or less, post them to a Web site like Youtube, and then e-mail us the link.
Dara O'Rourke from Good Guide chats with Brian Cooley about how to determine what products are good and good for you.
Watch the show on CNET TV.
Things we Crave
SmartParts Wi-Fi picture frame
First Look
Free Download of the week
Insider Secret
Best of the Web
Your calls
YouTube Downloader will download and convert YouTube videos for you. Particularly for the Zune, is an IE plugin called Zunemytube.
Maximize DVD ripping by making a bit-for-bit copy of the DVD.
Ivan Kanevski from GlassBooth stops by to discuss his website and other resources for researching your decision on who to vote for in the 2008 US election.
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Things we Crave
Product Spotlight
Download of the week
Quick Tip
Best of the Web
Your calls
A few ways to sync your iTunes across several computers. Syncopation and SyncOTunes work on Macs.
Andrea called in to suggest a couple security programs. An alarm for your Mac called iAlertU will make noise and take pictures if the laptop is stolen. Adeona is a free open source tracking service. I also suggested TrueCrypt and Back to my Mac.
Kim Bratcher from Wild Planet Toys stops by to show off some great new gadgets for your young ones...or maybe just for you.
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Things we Crave
Samsung airport charging stations and the airport power locater
Product Spotlight
Download of the week
Quick Tip
Best of the Web
Your calls
Remote Buddy expands the capabilities of your remote to control different functions of your Mac.
Griffin Firewave adds surround sound capability to your iMac, or other Firewire-based device.
Sony Bravia M4000 got a very good rating from CNET editors. But then so did the S3000.
Author Sherry Boschert joins us to explore the world of plug-in hybrid technology.
Watch the show on CNET TV.
Things we Crave
Toshiba XDE upconverting DVD player
First Look
Download of the week
Quick Tip
Your calls
Want an alternative to mojopac? If you just want portable apps, try portableapps.com. There is also ceedo and U3. I mentioned a virtual container creator called Altiris Software Virtualization Service. (Yeah I mistakenly called it VMware. Sorry y'all!)
Is there a difference between upscaling and upconverting? Not that we know of. Get a full discussion in the CNET forums.
You may be able to repair permissions on a G3 if packages no longer install.
To encrypt any volume of data, use TrueCrypt.
David Merkoski from Frog design stopped in to talk about how touch screens work and how interfaces are designed for them.
Watch the show on CNET TV.
Things we Crave
Zappos starts selling electronics
First look
Download of the week
Quick Tip
Launch stuff fast in Windows with Launchy
Best of the Web
Snowl universal content reader
Your calls
Downgrade iPod Touch firmware from 2.0
Convert WDB to CSV
Want to encrypt a thumb drive and be able to use it even on computers that don't require admin privileges. I've used Remora and others suggest Rohos Mini Drive. this Lifehacker article have lots of suggestions.
Best laptops for Back to School.
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