TIP: You will find links to many of the matters referred to in the notes below.
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Marc and Mario are in the studio this week, and are joined by Parker from Dish Network.
Marc's excited about Halo 3 - released this week to rave reviews.
GUEST: Parker from Dish Network
http://www.dishnetwork.com/
Marc says Dish Network's picture quality is better than Direct TV, and considering that he seems to spend his life glued to the screen, he should know!
Dish Network has a new HD receiver which has ability to record two shows at once. It's the VIP722 Dual Receiver, and it can record two programs at once; one in HD and the other in normal.
Even more impressive is that it has a total recording time of 55 hours!
Not enough recording time? You can attach an off-the-shelf external hard disk drive and store recorded programs there for more space. The external HDD uses the VIP722's USB connection for easy connection and setup.
Pricing: You can get HD reception free for the first 6 months to new subscribers and with that comes the VIP722 DVR. Program packages start at $29.99/month.
Don't have HD or a Satellite Receiver yet? Dish Network has a promotion with Sharp and can get you set up with $800 of the price of a Sharp Aquos HD TV.
More details at www.dishnetwork.com
Caller: Mark in Santa Ana
Mark got a Toshiba laptop for $350 from BestBuy in a close out special. It came with only 512MB RAM, so he added 1GB for a total of 1.5GB RAM.
It has Windows Vista Home Basic, and the problem is that the laptop cannot play DVDs, the audio and video playback is "choppy" not continuous. He has tried playing the DVD on another PC and it works fine, so it's not the DVD. He has the same problem when using either Windows Media Player or Win-DVD.
Has he done all the Windows and driver updates? Not yet. New drivers may cure the problem. If not email Marc at marc@kabc.com
FEATURE: Help Small Business with Small Loans
Mario - wants to mention www.kiva.org - lend money to people trying to start up business, anything from $25 upwards, with great returns. Chef Jamie has done it too!
Caller: Joe in Burbank
Wants to decommission a computer and use something to make sure he's copied everything from the old PC to the new one. There used to be a program called X-Tree but that's not around anymore. Belarc Advisor is a good way of checking what's on your PC.
Caller: Roger in Bellflower
Getting his first PC, and wants a recommendation for an all-in-one printer/scanner/copier. Mario says the Canon PIXMA MP-510 is a great all-in-one, go to www.canonusa.com.
What about software? The Canon comes with software, but if you want something more elaborate, try Adobe Photoshop Elements.
As for Anti-Spyware, Webroot makes the one that Marc likes the best; Spysweeper
Caller: Gary in Huntington Beach
Gets automatically logged off (disconnected) from his internet connection after 45mins to an hour. Uses a Roadrunner through Time Warner.
Marc says that usually it's a phone issue or service provider issue. Marc will check if there's anything in settings that might cause the problem, but typically it's an issue with the hardware (modem) or the service provider.
Bottom line: Insist on getting the modem replaced.
Caller: Steve in Corona
Thinks Gary's problem may be the power-save settings on the computer. Go to Control Panel and turn of energy savings, also check that any energy saving options are unchecked in Network Settings.
Marc's advice - go to the Yahoo Group and check out the Show Notes!
Caller: Maui Mike in Sherman Oaks
Are the E-Waste Recyclers safe to trust with the data on your old PC? Marc says that KABC's new sponsor:
are trustworthy, but there's no harm in electronically shredding anything you believe to be sensitive before you dispose of your old computer.
There are shredder programs that will wipe your HDD clean. Email Marc at marc@kabc.com for a recommendation, or check out free shredding software.
Caller: Mario on a Carphone
Has broadband connection problem. His wife's computer gets an error message when connected wirelessly. Usually the issue is the distance from the remote computer to the wireless router. Mario's had the problem intermittently for the last six months, before then it worked fine.
Mario doesn't know how to reset his network connection, so if he emails Marc, he'll give him step by step instructions.
Maybe Mario should contact last week's guest; www.Support.com for low cost support and use KABC's discount code "KABC15" to get a 15% discount.
Caller: Toni
Has an old laptop, and wants a replacement. She saw a Fujitsu and wants to know if they're any good? Marc says they're good, but he prefers Gateway. Toni wants a fast computer.
Marc has two suggestions:
1) Go to www.Gateway.com where you can build the computer on-line to get exactly what you want, and,
2) Toni's won today's prize! A Family Pack admission to The Computer Fair in Pomona on October 13th & 14th where there will be a huge choice of equipment at really amazing prices.
BOTW: Bluetooth Hands Free Car Kit $19.99
www.buy.com does it again with a Kyocera portable handsfree car kit only $19.99 with free shipping (Model # TXCKT10092)
Feature: Halo 3
Best opening for a video game. In single player mode it's very much the same as before, on-line has got amazing reviews.
It's for the XBox 360 only, and there are dedicated headsets, handsets, and even a dedicated XBox 360 console in Halo 3 colors.
More on Halo 3 www.halo3.com/
Caller: Guy in Santa Ana
Got charged $8 E-Waste fee. Is that legitimate?
Yes, Marc says it's what you get charged when you buy electronic hardware to pay for the cost of safely disposing of your old waste.
DVD Review: Grindhouse - Double Feature
Death Proof & Planet Terror
Out on DVD this week, Grindhouse, the double feature.
Available at Amazon
Caller: Ed in Long Beach
Ed's having DVD playing problems. He thinks he's updated his software, but is not sure. Marc suggests going to Microsoft.com and manually getting updates.
Ed also has a problem with his PC going into hibernation mode when he goes on-line.
Go to Control Panel,
Performance & Maintenance,
Power Options, and click "never" for hibernate.
That way the PC will only shut down when you want it to!
Ed also won a Family Pack of tickets to:
The Orange County Auto Show
October 4 through 7.
Marc will be broadcasting live from the Orange County Auto Show held at the Anaheim Convention Center on Saturday October 6, from 9am to 11am Go to the KABC website for more details. or www.motortrendautoshows.com/Orange_County/
Next week's show:
Live from the Orange County Auto Show 9am to 11am.
Back to the Show Notes archive.
