By Ron Doyle, Administrator | May 16, 2011 - 11:45 am - Posted in WSVA Show Notes

Listen to the podcast online if you weren’t able to listen live this morning.

Tech News
Online Scammers Jump on bin Laden News
Security experts are warning Internet users to beware of Osama bin Laden malware. Symantec says one spam contains a link to bogus photos and videos purporting to be from CNN Mexico. Instead, it directs people to a scam site designed to look real but created to steal passwords. Facebook users also fell victim to fake bin Laden links.

In what’s become common practice among the Internet’s less savory citizens, these scammers are sending out emails and spreading Facebook posts that purport to be videos or photos of the dead bin Laden. They are not. But by clicking the links, users can download computer viruses that steal personal information or otherwise infect their computers.


Yell at your phone to charge it!
New research from engineers in South Korea promises a new way to top up your phone’s battery: by shouting at it. This comes via a technique that turns energy from sound into electricity, and would allow a phone to be charged while you hold a conversation-just don’t throw you charger away any time soon.

Theoretically, using this technology your phone would also be able to charge while hold a conversation, but the sound levels in this situation are not high enough, unless… you shout at it.


CAN IT BE TRUE???? Skype Vulnerability Allows Hackers To Take Over Macs
A recently discovered hack in the Mac version of Skype allows hackers to gain control of the user’s system by sending a malicious instant message.

According to Australian security consultancy company Pure Hacking, the vulnerability in Skype is dangerous and would allow anyone with the know-how to gain control of a Mac by simply sending a malicious instant message.


  • Skype http://www.skype.com
    With Skype, you can share a story, celebrate a birthday, learn a language, hold a meeting, work with colleagues – just about anything you need to do together every day. You can use Skype on whatever works best for you – on your phone or computer or a TV with Skype on it. It is free to start using Skype – to speak, see and instant message other people on Skype for example. You can even try out group video, with the latest version of Skype.

    If you pay a little, you can do more things, in more ways, with more people – like call phones, access WiFi or send texts.

    Microsoft purchases Skype


  • Planking http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/psychologist-fears-police-crackdown-will-lead-to-more-planking-deaths/story-e6freoof-1226057031718
    This is the first recorded "Planking" death; unfortunately there could be many more to follow. What is planking? It is the "art" of laying face-down in extreme locations, having your picture taken and posted online for temporary fame.

    As the debate about planking went viral around the world yesterday, Brisbane psychologist Paul Martin warned of more deaths of "extreme plankers". He claimed part of the reason was that the pre-frontal cortex in men aged 23 or younger – the decision management part of the brain – was not fully developed and they therefore lacked a "handbrake" and took silly risks.

    "Add testosterone, add masculinity, add the Jackass effect and then add the explosion of social networking sites which are a way to gain acceptance . . . (and) death is quite inevitable."


  • Gas Buddy & Virginia Gas Prices http://gasbuddy.com
    Check country wide or state wide gas prices. Just enter your Zip Code at gasbuddy.com and it will take you to the area gas prices (for us, VirginiaGasPrices.com.

    They also have a trip cost estimator. Enter the FROM and TO, YEAR, MAKE and MODEL of your car and they will estimate how much it will cost you in gas to go and return.

    And of course, they have apps for iPhones, Androids and Windows phones. If you have another smart phone go to http://m.gasbuddy.com.


Join Ron and Jim next time on WSVA 550 AM, Monday, June 20, 2011 for more interesting sites, tech news and conversation.

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By Ron Doyle, Administrator | April 18, 2011 - 11:41 am - Posted in WSVA Show Notes

Listen to the podcast online if you missed it live.

Tech News Microsoft To Phase Out Zune
Bob, Clippy, Windows Me, the Kin mobile phone and now MS does in the Zune. What’s next Windows Phone 7? They will keep the Zune music store going but basically they will make it like iTunes for Windows Phone 7 and Windows 7. 

Zune launched in November 2006 with a lot of hype to beat Apple’s iPod. But sales never came close to reaching the iPods.


Google Video Shutting Down May 13
Since Google bought YouTube in 2006, it seems about time they shutdown the similar, older service, "Google Video".

The strange thing is they aren’t allowign people to automatically transfer their videos from one to the other. They have to download them and then upload them to YouTube.com…just seems strange.


Recharging Batteries in Phone & Notebooks
Battery-centric web site Battery University explains the real relationship behind battery life and charging. Lithium-ion batteries—the batteries present in most modern smartphones and laptops—don’t need to be fully discharged every once in a while to retain battery life, as many of us have been told. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

  • We used to be told to discharge a devices battery all the way and then recharge…
  • Today–> If at all possible, avoid frequent full discharges and charge more often between uses.

  1. Auction Sniper

    http://www.auctionsniper.com/
    Auction Sniper is an eBay sniper that automates the process of placing your eBay bid in the closing seconds of any eBay bidding auction.

    They charge 1% of the final auction price with a minimum of $0.25 and maximum of $9.95 only for the auctions that you win

  2. Google Alerts

    http://www.google.com/alerts
    Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (everything which is –> news, blogs, realtime (quote, "real time situational awareness" my estimate is in the last few minutes), video, discussion) based on your choice of query or topic.

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By Ron Doyle, Administrator | March 21, 2011 - 1:18 pm - Posted in WSVA Show Notes

Here are the links from today’s show.  Take time, sit back and enjoy reading here or listening to the podcast here.

Ron


Tech News
    Mozilla Firefox 4
  • http://firefox.com
  • Supposedly March 22…tomorrow. Then going to continual updates as Google Chrome has been doing.

For the First Time, More People Get News Online Than From Newspapers
End of 2010, "In surveys conducted by the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism, 34% of respondents said they read news online within the past 24 hours (as opposed to 31% who favored newspapers); and a full 41% said they get most of their news online, 10% more than those who said they got most of their news from a newspaper."

All text-based news audiences are dwindling. "Only 40% of people in the study said they read the news in an online or print newspaper, a 12% drop from five years ago."


Netflix announced that it bought "House of Cards", "… a political thriller drama series from executive producer/director David Fincher starring Kevin Spacey, which will be distributed exclusively via the company’s Internet subscription service. This marks Netflix’s first foray into original programming."

Netflix, currently has more than 20 million subscribers, (they say they will have 28 million by the end of the year — currently HBO has 28 million) things are changing in broadcast as well as paper.

Virtual Bubble Wrap
http://www.virtual-bubblewrap.com
The name pretty much says it all. Go to Virtual Bubble Wrap and pop bubble wrap online. On the left side click on "Pop Now!!!" and have at it.

Total time waster but I know some of you love to do it in real life, now you can go virtual.


The Daily Puppy
http://www.dailypuppy.com/
Kim Komando mentioned this one a couple of weeks ago. It was SO SPECIAL that I knew Jim would have to tell the world. Basically a newspaper about Puppies!


Virtual Router
http://virtualrouter.codeplex.com/
This tip came from Tammy in Charlottesville. Thanks and keep them coming.
You have a connection to the net on one computer and want someone else to use it. Like if you have an Air Card and want you wife to get on the net too.

Virtual Router is a free, open source software based router for PCs running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 ONLY. Using Virtual Router, users can wirelessly share any internet connection (Wifi, LAN, Cable Modem, Dial-up, Cellular, etc.) with any other Wifi device. These devices connect to Virtual Router just like any other access point, and the connection is completely secured using WPA2 (the most secure wireless encryption.)


Sonic the Hedgehog
http://www.giddgames.com/games/supersonic.swf
OK all of you old-time gamers from 1991 when Sonic hit the world, play it online here.

MAME Games
I mentioned MAMEs on the air this morning and others have already told you all you need to know…and more.  I chose the info below from random from the many out there, but the info is good.  It is a Google Group. (http://groups.google.com/group/alt.games.mame/topics)

The easiest way is to download MAME32:
http://mamedev.org/release.html

Put some ROMs in the roms folder, and fire it up. Also, check out the MAME FAQ for more details on everything MAME:
http://mamedev.org/roms/

And MAMEWorld has more links to great MAME stuff:
http://mamedev.org/

I totally agree with the a closing remark I read, “Don’t worry, it’s not as hard as it seems at first…”


Have a great time until next month, Monday, April 18, 2011.

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By Ron Doyle, Administrator | February 21, 2011 - 5:50 pm - Posted in WSVA Show Notes

Here are the links we talked about this morning on the show.  Try them out, enjoy them and let me know what you think.

I promised not to get too crazy the next time I talk about Google, well OK, I will at least try to remain calm.

Trying something new this time, listen to the podcast in it’s full glory here.

Ron


Radio Time
http://www.radiotime.com
Add the Radio Time app to your Android, Blackberry, iPhone, Windows Mobile or even Palm phones to listen to radio. I installed it and listened to WSVA live yesterday afternoon, while working in my home office (I never put a radio in there before…duh!) Runs on phones and computers allowing you to listen to most any radio station.

If you were signed up as a WSVA Loyal Listener you would have known about this earlier in the day, go ahead make our day!

Time and Dates
http://www.timeanddate.com/
Most anything you want to find out about time and dates are here. Create calendars, check time zones, check on Daylight Saving changes, countdowns to any event, etc.
Thanks to Tom from Harrisonburg for the site tip.

More Time info
http://nist.time.gov/
Check the exact atomic time, history of time, time zones, what’s in your quartz watch.
And yes, NIST does stand for “National Institute of Standards and Technology”.

Do Nothing for 2 Minutes
http://www.donothingfor2minutes.com/
Sort of boring but can you take the online challenge and do nothing on your computer for 2 minutes? If you do it you get "nothing" but the chance(?) to share the site with your friends…yippee.

Health Map
http://www.healthmap.org/
If you are interested in global health outbreaks this is the place to go. Hover the "pins" in the map and see what infectious disease is running amok.

Google Voice
http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html, links to feature videos
If you already have a home, work and/or cell phone get one number to rule them all – and many additional features. Ron has been using it for several years.

  • Make any or all of your phones ring at once or any combination.
  • Screen callers, listen as they leave a voice mail message and then interrupt if you want to or let them just go to voice mail.
  • Individually Block callers, they receive the, "You have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service" announcement.
  • Stop calls at night or whenever your wish.
  • You automatically get text transcripts in your Gmail account.
  • Number never has to change if you move or change providers, etc.
  • Did I mention so far it is free, other than international calls?

That is it for today.  I hope you tune in next month, Monday, March 15, 2011, on WSVA, 550 AM – hey, now you can put it on your phone or computer.  Look at the first link above.

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By Ron Doyle, Administrator | January 17, 2011 - 12:59 pm - Posted in WSVA Show Notes

Here you go, the links we talked about this morning on the call in show.  Try them out, enjoy them and let me know what you think.

Have a great day!


Security Essentials
http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/
Get high-quality, hassle-free antivirus protection for your home or small business PC now. It’s from Microsoft and works great per all f the test parameters.

Slim Computer
http://www.slimcomputer.com/
Tired of Getting Resource-Draining Promotions on a New PC? The solution is innovative software with community-sourced feedback to remove & disable unneeded software. Optimize your system with push- button controls that let you disable services, remove links & uninstall the software you never asked for.

Secunia – PSI
http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/
Keep all of your software updated. This is just like Windows Update but for most all of your other applications.  Whether you have a new or old computer I highly recommend you install it.  Make sure you download the PSI version (Personal Security Inspector).

Speccy
http://www.piriform.com/speccy
Speccy is an advanced System Information tool for your PC. Need to find out what’s inside your computer? No problem! Speccy will give you all the information you need. Once you run it you can save the report, print it or just run it again the next time you need to know what type of hardware and OS you have running.

Ninite Easy PC Setup – Silent Unattended Install Multiple Programs At Once
http://ninite.com/
Ninite – you never have to install same old apps individually, again on your next computer.

  1. Pick your favorite software.
  2. Click "Get Installer".
  3. Run it.
  4. You’re done!

ZamZar
http://zamzar.com/
Convert a large number of file types to another type. For instance, enter a YouTube video on ZamZar and have it converted to .MP3. One of Ron’s favorites is to convert a PDF file to Word format so that it can be edited…free.

Archive.org/The Wayback Machine
http://www.archive.org/
The Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, they provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public.  Plus you can go back in time and look at many websites from years ago.

1 Sale A Day
http://1saleaday.com/
Get good prices on wireless, watches, family jewelry products at deep discounts and of course, “The Deal of the Day”.  They change everyday at midnight (or really close to it) which is when the old sales go off and the new ones come on.

Mentioned by a caller (Ron has never tested this or tried it…yet):
DSL
http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/
DSL was originally developed as an experiment to see how many usable desktop applications can fit inside a 50MB live CD. It was at first just a personal tool/toy. But over time Damn Small Linux grew into a community project with hundreds of development hours put into refinements including a fully automated remote and local application installation system and a very versatile backup and restore system which may be used with any writable media including a hard drive, a floppy drive, or a USB device.

Talk to you next time.

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By Ron Doyle, Administrator | December 20, 2010 - 11:41 am - Posted in WSVA Show Notes

Once again, here are the sites we discussed today, in the order we mentioned them. Take a look and let me know how you like them. Also, give me others that you think we could talk about next month.

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


FatFingers eBay
http://www.fatfingers.co.uk/
Thousands of items are listed on eBay with spelling mistakes. These often end with no bids as no-one can find them. This site will check many typos and then search for what you type in. Say Granndfather Clcok instead of Grand father Clock…make sure you choose the correct country to search eBay.


I Can’t Find My Phone
http://icantfindmyphone.com/
OK, you left your phone laying around somewhere. You usually call it, hear it ring and get it. But what if you don’t have another phone nearby.


Norad Santa Tracker
noradsanta.org
Started 12/01 and you can also follow it on Facebook.  The site includes radar for Santa along with games, videos and other Santa related “things:”.


Once again I hope you have a great Christmas and look forward to seeing you online.

By Ron Doyle, Administrator | November 15, 2010 - 12:29 pm - Posted in WSVA Show Notes

Here are the sites we discussed today, in the order we mentioned them. Take a look and let me know how you like them. Also, give me others that you think we could talk about next month. Thanks!


Amazon last week Pedophile books this week nude kids in books and videos
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40137046/ns/technology_and_science-security

Tags: More trouble for Amazon, this time with photos
You may have heard that there’s something rotten on Amazon.com. We have learned that it doesn’t end with the company’s dropping of “The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover’s Code of Conduct.” Books and videos depicting pre-pubescent Eastern European and Asian girls, some of whom are nude, are listed for sale on Amazon in the U.S. and Japan, as of press time.


Mood Turn
http://moodturn.com

Tags: Helps you take a break through site and sound
“calming” pictures and sounds/music filling your browser


PC Magazine: How to Be Good to Your Computer
http://bit.ly/9btSdg

Tags: How to be good to your Computer
Here are 14 ways to treat your PC right


Infinite Photograph
http://www.thegreenguide.com/infinite-photograph

Tags: Part of a National Geographic collaboration – What makes up our world? Dive into this photo-mosaic portrait of Earth.
Move the yellow square over an area you would like to explore, click, and go. Double-click on an image to see more information about it. Keep clicking—and diving deeper into the Infinite Photograph—to get a truly boundless picture of Earth.


Andrea Mosaic
http://www.andreaplanet.com/andreamosaic/

Tags: Create your own photo mosaic made from your own pictures.
Create your own Infinite Photographs


Balabolka
http://www.cross-plus-a.com/balabolka.htm

Tags: “Reads” text from a document and converts to audio format so you can listen. Great for hearing impaired; however, computerized voice.
On-screen text can be saved as a WAV, MP3, MP4, OGG or WMA file. The program can read the clipboard content, view the text from DOC, EPUB, FB2, HTML, ODT, PDF and RTF files.

Sample Ron’s Column


TrafficLand.com
http://www.trafficland.com/

Tags: Traffic Land interstate cameras
Go to – MAP – VIRGINIA – SHENANDOAH VALLEY


511 Virginia – VDOT Site
http://www.511virginia.org/

Tags: A service of the VA Department of Transportation
Road conditions, Trip Planning, more Traffic Cameras, Weather and more


7plus Tweaks
http://lifehacker.com/5512783/7plus-tweaks-windows-7-with-shortcuts-uploads-to-ftp-in-single-stroke

Tags: Spruces up Windows 7, mostly for the geeks amoung us. Great article on Lifehacker about it.
Tweaking program 7plus allows you to create shortcuts for Windows 7 to streamline your efficiency. After a little setup, you can create files, paste text and images as files, or even upload a file to a server with the right keystroke.


Package Delivery Failure Virus
http://snopes.com/computer/virus/ups.asp

Tags: A common (and unfortunately, effective) technique for luring e-mail users into opening virus-launching attachments is to send messages that would appear to be relevant or important to many.
The UPS/FedEx/USPS Delivery failure is the circulation again.  It runs like crazy most every year starting around the Christmas season.  You have ordered something and feel that this e-mail is a real message from the shipper, only to get a dreadful surprise.



							  

By Ron Doyle, Administrator | October 18, 2010 - 10:51 am - Posted in WSVA Show Notes

Here are the sites we discussed today, hopefully in order of mention, if I took proper “notes”.  Take a look and let me know how you like them, or others we may want to mention next month.

LAlarm:  http://www.lalarm.com/ 
Notebook Theft Alarm can help prevent laptop theft by sounding an alarm when a thief tries to steal a laptop.


Unhearhttp://unhearit.com
Unhear it will help you get that song that is stuck in your head out of your head.


KillDisk: http://killdisk.com
”Slick” a hard drive so when you give it away it will keep people off of you old data.


Hard Drive Powerwashhttp://www.harddrivepowerwash.com 
A windows utility that enables its users to remove file clutter from their systems quickly and easily.  As always be cautious, I have used with no problems.


TAC Drivehttp://tacdrive.com 
Medical info on the tag, software that displays medical information and storage available for other docs on this USB thumb drive/medallion.


One Hello Worldhttp://onehelloworld.com 
Leave me a voicemail and I’ll write music behind your narrative.
Call it a soundtrack to your thoughts. Leave me a message: (316) 247-0421


Know Your Stuffhttp://ezasset.appspot.com 
Watch Video for an explanation of how you can record what you own for insurance purposes, free up to 1gb of storage then charges.  Check with your insurance agent to make sure this is viable


Scr.imhttp://scr.im    
Share your email in a safe way. Get less spam
Try Mine –> http://scr.im/dblclx


Follow Up Then: Email Reminder:  http://www.followupthen.com  
Check the site for details but on your next email just include time-interval@followupthen.com and we will follow up after the time interval you specify.


That’s all for this month, tune in to WSVA Live and Local to join Jim and me next month at 10:00 AM on Monday, November, 15.

Always feel free to email me (try http://scr.im/dblclx) with sites you find interesting and/or useful or just fun!

Ron

By Ron Doyle, Administrator | September 20, 2010 - 11:49 am - Posted in WSVA Show Notes

Here are the sites we discussed today, hopefully in order of mention, if I took proper “notes”.  Take a look and let me know how you like them, or others we may want to mention next month.

Soupy Sales

How Secure Is My Password?
Find out how long it would take as standard desktop PC to crack your password.

Free Birthday Gifts
What can you get free for your birthday? Find local businesses and restaurants offering birthday freebies or birthday discounts to adults, kids & pets!

Search Crime Reports
Put in an address and find all reported crimes in your area or any area.

Dead Pixel Tester
mall application to check for stuck/dead pixels on most monitors. Also has a small utility to exercise pixels in the hopes of bringing them back to life!

By Ron Doyle, Administrator | August 30, 2010 - 1:47 pm - Posted in WSVA Show Notes

Items discussed on today’s show:

From LifeHacker

What’s Wrong with this Children’s Book?

Disk Erasers for when you sell or donate your PC

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