Computer Guys & Gal | The Kojo Nnamdi Show

• Favorited 0 times
• 0 comments

Computer Guys & Gal

Order a CD or TRANSCRIPT of this program.

Guests

John Gilroy

WAMU Computer Guy; and Director of Business Development at SolutionsDevelopers

Allison Druin

WAMU Computer Gal; and Director of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at the University of Maryland

Bill Harlow

WAMU Computer Guy; and Hardware & Software Technician for MACs & PCs at Mid-Atlantic Consulting, Inc.

Rubik's TouchCube.

By Flickr user teecee

View more images

2009 Holiday Wish List

Bill Harlow's Picks

1. The new 27-inch iMac, quad-core please!
   The screen is gorgeous, the design is sexy, and with a quad core i5 or i7 processor you're entering Mac Pro performance territory. And you can even connect your MacBook Pro to it and use it as a display.
2. Verizon users, how about a Motorola Droid?
   Verizon users, you finally have an app phone (David Pogue's term) to be proud of. I've played with it, and I know people who have one and are really happy with it. Don't go in looking for an iPhone killer, but expect a phone that is almost as good, and in some ways, better.
3. The Gorillapod
   One of the most critical steps in taking good photos is keeping your camera steady. But it's often impractical to take a tripod everywhere. The Gorillapod is a three-legged, flexible tripod that can sit on nearly any surface, and even cling to things like poles and railings.
4. Bring back the 80s with Rubik's TouchCube
   For only $150 you can have a Rubik's Cube... that's electronic! Totally worth it for the rich and bored.
5. Don't get me an e-book reader:
   Some of this is player-hating, but he makes a good point: When you buy an eBook reader now, you're buying into an unproven ecosystem. There's no one dominant eBook reader now, nothing like the iPod situation.

Allison Druin's Picks

The Right Price

1. Electronic guitar shirt!
   Yes, this outdoes the wifi t-shirt from THINKGEEK last year! It's a fully playable guitar complete with a magnetic pick you strum by waving the strings. 4 AAA batteries not included, but it is only $29.99!

2. The Quirky Scratch 'n Roll MousePad.
   It's a regular mousepad with an added writing surface for all those times you are working at your desk and can't find a pen to jot down that phone number you don't want to forget. When you're done with the info, erase the notes by flipping up the semi-transparent top sheet. At $15, this was crowd-sourced at QUIRKY, a site where anyone can submit a product idea and get feedback. If the product gets lots of good feedback, you could actually make money (either by giving feedback or by being the inventor).

Pricey

1. The iPhone.
   It's $199, over 100,000 apps and it's a decent camera, video camera, music player, and oh yeah, phone.
   A few weeks ago Apple passed Nokia as the most profitable cell phone vender.

2. iPod dock and speakers with integrated toilet paper holder.
   For the person who has everything and is completely addicted to their iPod, this is for you. So yes, while you're on the potty you won't miss a thing. Not sure it's worth the $100 price tag, but you could be the first on your block to get it! Unless you're really one with your iPod, think twice.

3. PowerMat!
   For those on your list with too many gadgets to keep track of. The Portable Mat lets you put your devices on this wireless cube and get powered up (for $100). Your devices need to be powermat enabled, but it helps those folks who just keep forgetting to power up their iPhones.

4. The new Kindle
   With its new firmware update (version 2.3 of its software) you can get 85% more battery life and go almost a week without recharging! And now you can rotate your device and get a landscape spread of your book. At $260, it's the best yet for PDF-lovers: the Kindle will now support Adobe's PDF format natively. (Sorry, but rev 1 users can't get the firmware update).

5. WikiReader
   If you miss your shelves of encyclopedias and don't want to deal with the Kindle, you can get the WikiReader ($99). It's a small handheld device loaded up with every Wikipedia article available. It uses two AAA batteries, and requires no data connection. When it's time to update the WikiReader to the latest articles, just download to your reader.

Priceless

1. It's always better to give than receive, so consider Wikipedia this holiday season. They're losing editors/contributors in droves. People are tired of all the rules and layers of complexity to contribute. 49,000 people left last year (as opposed to 10 times less the year before). So if you have time, give a little of it to Wikipedia, or else it may grow extinct before you know it!

Scams of the Month

From Allison:

Fraudulent Email

From: Sr. Annette Bower [mailto:ABower@msmc.la.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 9:07 AM
To: undisclosed-recipients
Subject: Webmail Quota Has Exceeded The Set Limit
Your mailbox has exceeded the storage limit which is 20GB as set by your administrator,you are currently running on 20.9GB,you may not be able to send or receive new mail until you re-validate your mailbox.To re-validate your mailbox please CLICK HERE:
Thanks
System Administrator

Allison's Comment: If it was from our system administration people they would have an email address that is umd.edu. Generally, our support staff doesn't send out messages with typos. They NEVER send out anything asking us to revalidate by sending us to a website. All together - a SCAM!

From Bill:

Modify your iPhone at your own risk

Bill's Comment: There have been several reports of compromised iPhones and security risks. Most users won't be affected, but it's a good reminder that "jailbreaking" an iPhone can lead to a less secure phone.

Tips of the Month

From John:

Don't Smoke Around Your Computer
PSA: Smoking is so bad it voids your computer warranty

From Bill:

Lock Down Your iPhone!
Take a few simple steps to protect your phone and data. In the General Settings, you can enable a passcode lock, so the iPhone requires a PIN to unlock it. If a thief fails to guess the correct PIN too many times, the data self-destructs. Also, MobileMe users should take advantage of its unique iPhone services. Add your MobileMe account info in the Mail, Contacts, Calendars settings, and make sure to turn on Find My iPhone. Make sure Location Services is enabled in General Settings. If your iPhone is lost or stolen, you can pinpoint it by logging into your account at Me.com. You can ping it so that it will draw attention to itself, or if you fear it's gone for good, wipe it remotely. Remember, it's not the phone that has the value, it's your data.

Items Discussed on Today's Show

Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up"
Watch the video

"Jailbroken" iPhones
Jailbroken iPhones Vulnerable To 'Duh' Worm

iPhone Prints Money?
While Rivals Jockey For Market Share, Apple Bathes In Profits

Bill Gates Praises Apple
Gates: Apple is a 'force in doing good things'

eBooks
Libraries and Readers Wade Into Digital Lending

The Best of Today's E-Book Readers

Google OS
Chrome OS: Internet failing at PC > PC failing at Internet

Releasing the Chromium OS Open Source Project

Google gives first demonstration of its Chrome operating system

Five Reasons the Google Chrome OS will Flop