All Shows

Show of 3-4-2007

  • Fixing A Slow Windows Computer
    • Niece has very slow XP Machine
    • Used a three pronged approach (hardware problems, malware removal, OS tuning)
    • Ruled out hardware problems
      • Enough RAM for WindowsXP (512 MB)
      • Enough Hard drive capacity (40G Hard drive with only 17 GB in use)
      • Ran Checkit (www.symantec.com) to check for hardware malfunctions.
    • Removed adware and spyware using Ad-aware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/)
    • Operating system tuning
      • Cleaned up registry
      • Defragmented hard drive
        • Speed Disk (www.symantec.com) Part of Norton Utilites Suite
        • Microsoft Disk Defragmenter, free utility with Windows XP
    • Result: Computer runs like new
  • Problems with eBay continue
    • First my account was frozen, then my wife’s
    • Some one used out credit card fraudulently
    • My account was reinstated
    • Found a charge for $8.06 charged to my account. Can’t get eBay live help to assist me with this problem.
    • Cancelled credit card and disputed charge.
  • How long does the average water molecule stay in the atmosphere?
    • Water is constantly cycling between liquid and gaseous forms in Earth’s atmosphere and bodies of water.
    • On average, a water molecule stays in the atmosphere for two weeks.
    • Source: Boston Review
  • Jim Wales, Wikipedia Founder, Has Trouble Cashing in
    • Wikipedia is a non-profit
    • Revenue based on contributions not ads
    • Can’t be sold to a company like Google
    • Trying to make money using new site, www.wikia.com
    • A community of web sites that can be edited…raised $4M in VC dollars March 2006
    • YouTube founders now appear much smarter….sold to Google for $1.65B
  • NASA Releases New Photos of Saturn
    • NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has captured never-before-seen views of Saturn from perspectives high above and below the planet’s rings.
    • Over the last several months, the spacecraft has climbed to higher and higher inclinations, providing its cameras with glimpses of the planet and rings that have scientists gushing.
    • Cassini snapped the images while in a highly inclined orbit during the past two months.
    • The $3.3 billion Cassini mission, funded by NASA and the European and Italian space agencies, was launched in 1997.
    • It is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena
    • Cassini Home Page: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/
  • Monitor Your Driving Habits
    • The devices plug into a car’s engine control computer and keep track of any bad behavior you might display behind the wheel–lead-footed acceleration that wastes gasoline, for example.
    • The gadgets plug into a diagnostic socket called an OBD II port. The manufacturers of both devices have information on incompatible vehicles at their Web sites.
    • Installation is simple, but there is a small complication: First, you have to find the port. by going to the National OBD Clearing House Web site. The devices plug in easily.
    • Two devices you might consider
      • CarChip form Davis Instruments stores 300 hours of data which can be downloaded to your computer for analysis. Has an alarm if speed to too high. ($150 to $200)
      • ScanGauge II by Linear Logic sends data to a dashboard display ($170)
    • The CarChip, about the size of a 9-volt battery, begins flashing immediately and logs data until you pull it out.
      • The software that transforms the data into neat reports comes on a CD and installs quickly.
      • E/X, keeps track of data for up to 300 hours of traveling and then automatically begins overwriting the older data.
      • The CarChip can tell you when the ignition was turned on and off and the time and date of each trip. That is why some people use these devices for keeping an eye on others’ driving. Fleet owners, for example, put them in vans to monitor the driving habits of employees; anxious parents use them in the cars of their teenage children.
    • ScanGauge II starts logging data immediately. It has a cable that runs from the plug-in to the console, about the size of a stick of butter, which displays the data. The display panel can be attached to the dashboard with Velcro–two pieces were enclosed with the model I tried. One screen shows trip data, including fuel economy and the distance the car can cover before the fuel tank is empty.