Vista, Vista, Vista... Lots of good information yesterday, especially the tip that, like Win 95 & 98, you can't upgrade your video card AFTER installing Vista OS. Beware!! The bottom line seems to be max out the RAM, get a dual core processor machine, and buy the best video card you can. Oh yeah, and don't try to upgrade an XP machine older than 18 months or you'll be relegated to the default version of Vista, Home Basic. If you are going to try to upgrade, please check here first --
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/upgradeadvisor/

JG

Vista is HERE! Call in with questions, comments, boos, hisses, cheers... 877-772-9658 between 1-2 PM Eastern today.

Also - we're in another time warp. Det. Dave Ausdenmoore will be in our studio today instead of his normal "first Tuesday of the month" gig. Security, cybercrimes, safe computing is his bag - call with your questions. If you've received a new twist on the Nigerian scam - let's hear it!

Links from yesterday's program:

Hash program to find duplicate files. Listener Ken recommends http://www.find-duplicates.net/

Vista comes out next Tuesday. Lots of things to consider before jumping off the cliff, er... I mean upgrading.
Is your computer adequate?http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/upgradeadvisor/

Tune in next Tuesday to talk about the new Vista OS.

JG

I received this email and meant to make a post regarding its question:

"Dear Computer Talk,

Recently after Christmas break you podcast seems to be a week behind
your show on itunes, and wanted to know if that was intentional or is it
just a mistake somewhere and could you fix it thanks."

Answer: Last week's show did not get put into a digital format (our disc burner is a piece of !*#$%!!), therefore we didn't get it up on the podcast. Sorry. We'll be back on track after today's show.

JG

Here are my kids watching a live feed from the recent Consumer Electronics Trade Show in Las Vegas. I think Bill Gates was giving his speech on the new Vista Operating System.

JG

Another blog: http://wxpnews.com

This one seems to be focused on Windows XP, and on new goodies. Let us know what you think of it.

<--- Look left, "Email Us" link now up.

Here's a youtube link to a friend painting a wall mural in a yoga studio.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1Zy_25MkUI

JG

Red dot bad, green dot good.

I was so proud of my new Motorola L6 Razor when I purchased it last spring. Quad band GSM, 850/900/1800/1900 frequency range, unlocked (could be used with any cellular carrier worldwide), and it was fairly cheap. I found it at one of the Ebay stores that sells electronics from the back of a truck down by the docks.

There are lots of things that don't go together... you know, dogs & cats, oil & water, microsoft & apple... Two of the most important things that do not go together are electronics and water. An unplanned swim while canoeing with the phone in my pocket (the phone was turned on) rendered me cellphoneless.

Being too cheap to purchase another phone, and curious about what was inside, I got out my Torx drivers and disassembled the sucker. The dashboard of my car provided the right amount of heat and sunshine to dry out all the parts. After reassembly it worked! Well, it kind of worked. More dropped calls, sketchy audio, and the screen wasn't what it used to be. I took it into Cingular to see what could be done. They popped the battery out and said, "this phone got wet." Busted. How did they know you ask? The telltale red dot sticker affixed to the chassis of the phone under the battery. Apparently it goes from green to red when it gets wet. Beware. Maybe I'll start an Ebay business that sells new stickers...

Stay tuned for a posting on my new phone. I'm in love again! (until it gets wet, run over, eaten by my dog, or I find something else)

JG

Last Tuesday I complained that MS in their infinite wisdom had discontinued Windows Defender for Windows 2000 OS. The implication was that the new Defender was incompatible with Win2K.

Well, some geeks are now telling me this is not true; the Installer program can be altered (edited) to install the new Defender on a Win2K platform. Details available at: http://www.compatdb.org/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/175747/page/1

I have not yet had the time to try this, so cannot comment on this "fix". However it looks attractive and I'll give you a status report when I have taken the plunge.

Comments welcome!

Received this email this morning. Thought it was worth publishing here for the good of the order...

>On Jan 4, 2007, at 9:50 PM, Hxxxxx@aol.com wrote:

>Enjoyed your computer program very much.  Could I get a transcript or is it available otherwise?  Left the
>car, thus missed some topics.  Thanks for all you do.
 >L. H.
-=-=-=-=-
MY RESPONSE --
L. H.

Thanks for the email and thank you for listening to Computer Talk.

We podcast the show at iTunes. Go to http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ download a free copy. You don't have to own an iPod or use an Apple computer. Once you have iTunes launch it, go to the iTunes Store, Podcasts, search for "WMKV", then subscribe to our podcast -- it is free as well. You can listen to the podcast via your computer or on an mp3 player. If you don't want to hassle with all of this, or if you don't own an internet-connected computer, let me know and I'll get you a cd copy of the show.

Cheers,

John Gatch
Computer Talk
WMKV - 89.3 FM
www.wmkvfm.org
www.wmkv.blogspot.com
11100 Springfield Pike
Cincinnati, Ohio
45246

Happy New Year - hope our listeners enjoyed the show yesterday! Don't forget - the show repeats Thursday at 5 AM and at 6 PM (Eastern time).

Here's a website talking about Spam, scams, phishing, etc. - you learn something new every day! Go to: http://worldwidespam.info/ to see how the nefarious net ne'er-do-wells run their ploys.

Resolve to back up your computer every day this year! Use this Aus-recommended product...

http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/

... and be sure to listen to us next week to find out if Tom married the Ethiopian Princess.

JG
CEO and Founder
DNFE Coalition
(do not forward email)