0
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB)
Show Notes:
Contact info: | Feed: feeds.feedburner.com/geekcast | TheGeekcast.com | geekcast@gmail.com | Skype & Gizmo: Geekcast | 206-98-geek-1 | Show notes: send blank e-mail to geekcastpodcast-subscribe@yahoogroups.com | Frappr Map: Frappr.com/thegeekcast
**************
Items of Note:
**************
Tech news:
Blank Blu-ray discs start shipping. TDK has started shipping blank Blu-ray discs to retailers, and they cost about as much as a new DVD. A 25GB recordable disc costs $19.95, according to the Blu-ray Disc Association, the trade group behind the next-generation format. Recordable-rewritable versions of the 25GB disc cost $24.95. Later this year, TDK will come out with a Blu-ray disc that records on both sides and holds 50GB. The recordable version will sell for $47.99, while the recordable-rewritable version will go for $59.95. TDK began to supply manufacturers with samples in December. Blu-ray players won’t hit shelves until later this year.
Disney to Offer Shows Free Online. A published report says the Disney Company plans to start making some of its most popular programming available free on the Internet. The Wall Street Journal says shows like “Desperate Housewives” and “Lost” would be available on a revamped Web site the morning after they air. The report says shows would be archived so viewers can eventually watch an entire season of shows from outlets including ABC and Disney Channel.
Apple releases Boot Camp. Apple has officially sanctioned dual-booting your Intel mac by releasing Boot Camp. Coming hot on the heels of the prize money won a few weeks ago, Apple has gone ahead and made it so Windows can use all the hardware on the mac. Boot Camp burns a CD with all the Mac-specific drivers for
Graphics, Networking, Audio, AirPort wireless, Bluetooth, The Eject key (on Apple keyboards) and Brightness control for built-in displays. Once you’ve completed Boot Camp, simply hold down the option key at startup to choose between Mac OS X and Windows. After starting up, your Mac runs Windows completely natively. Simply restart to come back to Mac. Apple requires the following:
Mac OS X Tiger v10.4.6
The latest Firmware update
10GB free hard disk space
An Intel-based Mac
A blank recordable CD
An installation disc for Microsoft Windows XP, Service Pack 2, Home or Professional.
According to Apple you cannot use multi-disc, upgrade or Media Center versions of Windows.
MacBook to be announced by May. According to Think Secret Apple has begun manufacturing its new MacBook and should have the laptop in consumer hands in the next 30-60 days, sources report. The MacBook—and it will indeed be called the MacBook, sources have confirmed, as Apple will be dropping the iBook moniker—is being built exclusively around a 13.3-inch widescreen display with a 1280×720 WXGA resolution, as previously reported. The MacBook will likely share internals with Apple’s recently revamped Mac mini, meaning a Core Solo processor can be expected in the low-end and a Core Duo in the higher-end MacBook. In doing so, Apple will position the 13.3-inch MacBook as both an entry-level laptop and as a replacement for Apple’s 12-inch PowerBook G4. Apple will discontinue the 14-inch iBook G4 immediately upon release of the MacBook but sources expect the company to continue to offer the 12-inch iBook G4 in limited quantities for a period of time.
**************
Test a geek: Thanks to David George, we have a new Test A Geek segment! Enjoy.
**************
How To: Properly dispose of your old computer.
Computers sure are handy when they are working but once they’ve chewed their last byte, things can get a little messy. Toxic chemicals, carcinogens and heavy metals are all part of what makes their clocks tick, and improper disposal can bring them all a little too close for human comfort. Computer recycling is nothing new, but getting your old electronics to the great motherboard in the sky can be tricky to do responsibly. For years, developed countries have been exporting tons of electronic waste for inexpensive, labor-intensive recycling and disposal, mostly to China. One of the best ways to get clean recycling is simple: just ask questions. A reputable recycler should be able to tell you where hardware is sent. The recycler should also be able to tell you how it handles data destruction and you’ll want the recycler or reuse organization to wipe the hard drive for you so any personal information doesn’t end up where it doesn’t belong. If you are donating your equipment to a reuse organization, ask if equipment is tested before it is passed on for donation and if the company only ships working equipment.
One of the easiest options is to use your computer manufacturer’s recycling program, though most major manufacturers charge fees and require you to do the packing and shipping. The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, a good guide to responsible recycling, finds many of the manufacture take-back programs wanting and publishes a report card on the environmental effectiveness of most of them.
The Rethink Program, hosted by eBay has a good computer recycling FAQ section and many useful links to recyclers, as do CompuMentor’s Tech Soup site and the EPA’s eCycling website. The Basel Action Network also carries a list of electronics recyclers that have signed their pledge, under which recyclers agree not to export e-waste or add it to landfill and to document where equipment and parts and materials go.
If your machine still functions (and not just as a paperweight), then seeing that it is reused is perhaps the best option. Companies like RetroBox and FreeGeek build computers out of salvaged parts; the latter has a list of like-minded organizations that can be a good starting place for recycling or reusing your machine.
**************
Ask A Geek:
Tim S. asks:
I recently purchased the new Motorola RAZR V3c from Verizon Wireless. I like the phone, and I have thus far been able to send mp3 ringtones to the phone and retrieve photos from the phone using Bluetooth on my Dell Axim. However, I’d like to be able connect my phone to my Windows XP laptop by USB cable (the phone uses a regular USB mini-B cable), but I haven’t been able to find an appropriate driver. The phone isn’t recognized by my PC, and it won’t charge via USB. I searched online and I can’t find a driver that works for the RAZR V3c, and this is where I was hoping you could help. I basically just want to be able to charge my phone by USB at work and also be able to browse the file folders on the phone (which I can see via Bluetooth).
Answer:
Tim, thanks for your question. With all cell phones, being able to interface it with a PC is getting to be vital these days and when you need a charge on the go, USB is definitely a great option. When it comes to file transfer, while USB is fast, bluetooth isn’t so bad and can get the job done. I would stick with that since it is working for you.
As for charging via USB, a little bit of Google searching brought me to the Osnn forums and a particular post showing a file attachment allowing USB charging of your phone. This should do the trick for you and should be a great resource for you to find out more about hacking your Razr. The link for the forum post housing the file is below.
http://forum.osnn.net/showthread.php?s=0dcbe7ab6538651b3b67535bd5ef8b46&t=80317
**************
Hack: This segment will return on a future episode of The Geekcast.
**************
The geek’s view: This segment will return on a future episode of The Geekcast.
**************
Related Episodes:
E-mail
Voicemail
