Technical Difficulties

Episode #9 Live Recording

ed — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:06:08 +0000

Title: Episode #9 recording
Location: Ustream
Link out: Click here
Description: Recording episode #9 with live stream on Ustream
Start Time: 20:30
Date: 2009-04-19
End Time: 22:00

Technical Difficulties – EP 8

ed — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:57:36 +0000

Ed and Cary discuss news, netbooks, April Fools Conficker and Google stuff.

This episode was also recorded live on Ustream. Check out our show page and follow us: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/technical-difficulties

Top News
- Is Conficker Finally History?

- AT&T: Net Neutrality & Netbooks

Tech Feature (Break Down)
- Web browsers: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Opera

Insignificant News
- Google To Buy Twitter?

- Google’s Data Center Secrets Revealed

- Netflix Raising Blu-ray Prices 20%

Tech Tip
- Mobile Internet other than wi-fi

Email the TechDiff Geeks: techdiff[ @ ]techdiffpodcast.com

Episode #8 Live Recording

ed — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 17:33:14 +0000

We plan to record the next episode live on Ustream. Details below. I hope you will join us.

Title: Episode #8 Recording
Link out: Click here
Description: Live Recording
Start Time: 21:00
Date: 2009-04-05
End Time: 22:30

101 Internet Freebies

ed — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:00:28 +0000

I’m just copying what Lifehacker has already pointed out. I’m only doing this because I think it is a rather important post for everyone to see. If you don’t already have Lifehacker in your RSS reader, I highly recommend.

PC World posted a really good list of internet tools and websites on Monday that may help you in your everyday internet life. Check out and report back here what you already use and like.

101 Undiscovered Freebies: The List

These are some I have tried and have found useful:

* Box.net
* Dropbox
* Drop.io
* Evernote
* FireFTP
* HandBrake
* Microsoft Live Mesh
* OpenOffice.org
* PortableApps.com Suite
* Postbox
* Remember the Milk
* SkyDrive
* Skype 4.0
* TV.com
* Windows Live Sync
* Wubi Ubuntu Installer

*Note: Supposedly, Microsoft’s Live Mesh, SkyDrive and Sync are to be rolled up into one.

Technical Difficulties – EP 7

ed — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:53:35 +0000

Jon, Ed and Todd discuss recent news, building computers and Todd’s anger issues.

Seriously, people, you’ll want to tune in to this one. Todd makes Ed cry.

Top News
- iPhone 3.0: The Facts

- Tech Birthdays

Tech Feature (Break Down)
- RSS and RSS readers

Insignificant News
- Apple orders 10-inch touchscreens

- Microsoft details app store

- Best Buy refuses to match prices

Tech Tip
- Building your own PC

Email the TechDiff Geeks: techdiff[ @ ]techdiffpodcast.com

Building Your Own Desktop PC

ed — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:51:27 +0000

This tech tip is mainly for the person out there who wants to get into technology, learn about computers, or possibly save money. I will not lie to you, building a personal computer is not an easy task at first. Sometimes it can be downright frustrating which can cause many large headaches to develop. However, once you build one from scratch and everything works, there is a sense of accomplishment that can make you feel proud. And, adding this to your list of skills can be a benefit that you can never lose.

In my opinion, the best place to start with learning how to build a computer is upgrading the hardware in the computer that you already own, that is how I got started. If your motherboard can take it, add more memory. If you need extra storage space to backup your personal data, add another hard drive. If you like to play video games and think your computer could benefit from a better video card, upgrade it. However, it is best when upgrading any of these components to first consult the manual that came with your motherboard. Of course, if you bought your computer from a manufacturer like Dell or HP, you may need to consult your warranty also before voiding any warranty agreements.

In my personal experience, way back in 1994, my first personal computer (if you don’t consider the Commodore 64 I had back in 1984) was a AST desktop computer I bought from Radio Shack. After about a year of use, I found it necessary to upgrade the memory. Of course I consulted AST’s technical support service first so that I could get the exact type of memory I needed to buy in order to upgrade. After that I went to upgrading the 884MB hard drive that came with the computer to a 2GB hard drive and then from there to a faster processor, all the time consulting AST’s technical support service. Once that computer gave up the ghost about six years later, I built my own computer using the knowledge I had gained, over time, from upgrading the AST.

As far as resources are concerned, Lifehacker has a pretty good article on their site that discusses the basics of building your own computer. If you do more research using Google search, you can find plenty of information out there that discuss step-by-step instructions on how to build a computer. I found a pretty detailed instructional on How Stuff Works web site that does a pretty decent job also. If you prefer a book, I would start with any book on Comptia’s A+ Certification. Not only does it help you with the Comptia A+ Certification exam, for those looking to get into the Information Technology field, but it also has complete details on computers, operating systems and all technology surrounding personal computers.

Of course, the staff at Technical Difficulties can be a resource also. I don’t mind answering any questions you may have about building a computer. Just email us (td[ @ ]techdiffpodcast.com) and we will try our best to answer any questions you may have. Or, just post a comment here and we, or someone else, will respond to your questions and/or comments.

Tech Birthdays

ed — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:31:20 +0000

I thought it important to mention on this site two very important birthdays today. Thanks to Shag over at Once Upon a Geek for posting the news link on The Unique Geek discussion group.

The web turns 20

Happy Birthday, Web!

Linux turns 15

Happy Birthday, Linux!

Both are very important landmarks to learn and remember. This site and podcast wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for these two accomplishments.

Technical Difficulties – EP 6

ed — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:30:48 +0000

Jon, Ed, and Todd discuss recent news, who’s getting served, and OpenDNS.

Top News

- Skype Announces Voice-to-Text Messaging

- Amazon Streaming Video on Roku Video Player

Tech Feature (Break Down)
- Server vs. desktop vs. laptop

Insignificant News
- Apple Updates Mac Mini, Should You Buy It?

- Oracle’s Unbreakable Linux Not Denting Red Hat

- Lala Music Library Streaming

Tech Tip
- OpenDNS

Email the TechDiff Geeks: techdiff[ @ ]techdiffpodcast.com

Use OpenDNS for Safe Internet Browsing

ed — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 01:50:55 +0000

I’m going to cheat here and copy a blog post I wrote about OpenDNS from my own personal site. But first, if you haven’t listened to episode #6 of the Technical Difficulties podcast, head over to that section now and listen to the episode where we discuss OpenDNS a little more thoroughly in the Tech Tip section of the podcast.

I’ve been using OpenDNS on my home router for a long time but have never, until now, used the advanced features it has to offer. For those of you with children who are now surfing this new wave called the internet, then OpenDNS would be perfect for you and your children. But, it’s not just for parents; it has quite a few other features to enable that will help filter out any phishing scams or other malicious sites.

If you are not familiar with OpenDNS, then go here:

http://www.opendns.com/

To put it simple, it’s an alternate DNS server you can input into your home router’s (and I pray that all of you reading this that have broadband have a home network router for security sake) DNS settings instead of your ISP’s DNS. If you go to the above site and select Home Network from the Solutions section, it will explain easily how to configure your home router to use OpenDNS.

Once you configure your router with OpenDNS’s IP addresses, create a free account with them, download the OpenDNS utility and install. Then go back to your account settings on the site and start setting up your network. I’m not exactly sure if the utility is really necessary as its only function is to notify OpenDNS when your external IP address, given to you by your ISP, has changed.

I really do encourage you, dear reader, to use this, especially if you are a parent. It enforces safe browsing without you having to be conscious of it all the time. For those of you that are a little more tech savvy, OpenDNS basically has web filtering enabled when you set them as your DNS server and create an account but all the filtering is done through their DNS servers.

I don’t have it included in the photos below but you can even create a custom message that will be displayed when a page has been blocked and a way for your network clients to email you the site they are trying to visit so that you can mark the site safe in your OpenDNS settings, if you so desire.

Just like an anti-virus being needed on a Windows machine, web filtering is just as important, if not more so.

Below are a few photos of some of my basic account settings to show you what can be set and how powerful it can be.

Password Manager

ed — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 02:11:14 +0000

Everyone, for the most part, uses the web for almost anything these days; online banking, email, online school, social networking, and so much more. Every time you use one of these services you are required to create a username and password. Over time, your accumulation of accounts can begin to stack up and keeping track of those accounts becomes a hassle. I’ve even noticed over the years that after all the sites I use consistently, the number of accounts has grown beyond control; last count was well over twenty unique accounts.
The most important part of creating these accounts we forget is security. Writing down the information on a piece of paper to keep next your computer is not secure. What we fail to realize is that information is easily available to everyone that visits your home. A password manager application is perfect for this type of information.
The function of a password manager is to store all of your accounts in a database and then secure the database by a master password so that you only have to remember that one password instead of many. Along with this advantage, it ensures that you don’t forget the password to an account, just in case you lose that piece of paper.
As mentioned in episode #5 of Technical Difficulties podcast, I recently discovered KeePass Password Safe from the Portable Apps suite of applications. At one time I was using Password Agent but decided to go with a free open-source software, especially one that was portable for my needs. Todd, on the episode, also mentioned RoboFrom which has the ability to integrate into the Firefox web browser. Terry mentioned he used Password Safe for his password management.
To tell you the truth, any password manager with good security encryption is recommended to help you keep track, and secure, of all those accounts you use day to day.