Today's show is broadcast live from the LA Auto Show, and Marc is joined by Joe Wiesenfelder, Senior Editor at Cars.Com.
Marc is at the Southern California Chrysler & Jeep Exhibit, and will be there next week too.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger opened the show and promised to stop by for an interview, but Marc was too busy to see him. Click here to see more of the Governator's tour of the show.
Caller: Ken in Huntington Beach
How to you get digital pictures onto a DVD easily? Marc likes Adobe's Photo Elements but there are other programs. Can he get a PowerPoint presentation onto a DVD so someone without PowerPoint can view it? There is a program called PowerPoint to DVD, but perhaps there's a less expensive way.
Caller: Randell in Santa Monica
Are all wireless routers automatically configured to be hardware firewalls? Marc uses NetGear routers and they definitely are firewalls, but if you're buying some other brand, be sure to check the manufacturer's website to make certain.
Marc does not like software firewalls as the frequently cause conflicts and can actually prevent you from getting internet access.
Go to www.grc.com and use their free "Shields Up" scan to see if you have an effective firewall.
Caller: Robert Gismondi from the Yahoo! Group
Has advice for Ken. Use a free program from Microsoft "PowerPoint Viewer" to allow PC users without PowerPoint to view a presentation.
Joe from Cars.Com
What's the latest Technological Innovation in Cars?
It's Honda's FCX Clarity Advanced Fuel Cell Vehicle, the first car to use Hydrogen Fuel Cells.
Caller: Darren in Los Angeles
Has 2 accounts on his XP PC, and wants to know if programs installed on one account will be available to users on the other account? As long as the program is installed in the Administrator account, it is available to all accounts as long as it's availability was not specifically excluded when installed.
Darren also has a problem when using his all in one printer/scanner, he gets a warning message from Zone Alarm asking him if he wants to access the internet. Marc says that Darren needs to set up Zone Alarm properly, and advises Darren to email him at marc@kabc.com for detailed instructions.
Joe from Cars.Com
What's the best new car for a Tech Guy?
Joe likes the Infiniti EX35
The EX35's Lane Departure warning system actually yanks at the steering wheel if you wander into another lane. It also has cameras all around to give you better vision when parking.
Marc's vote for the Tech Guy Car?
The Lexus LS400L - the car that parks itself! It also has a great navigation system that uses XM Radio's traffic information to re-route you around traffic jams.
But, as nice as the Lexus is, there's one thing it does not have:
Night Vision! Exclusive to the Mercedes 'S' Class and the BMW 7 Series, these cars see in the night!
Caller: Mark in San Diego
His mother is getting a lot of financial information in the form of *.pdf files and Mark wants to know if there's a way to convert these files into MS Excel files so that the data can be analyzed?
Invest In Tech has a program called Able2Extract that will do the job.
Another option is Cogniview, but they don't have a free trial.
Of course, you can buy Adobe's Acrobat, but that's expensive.
Caller: Charles
The designer of the Chrysler 300C is Ralph Gilles who's childhood ambition was to become a car designer. Click here to learn more about him.
Mark wants to know whether The Green Hornet's Black Beauty was the inspiration for the Chrysler 300C?
Joe from Cars.Com thinks the Chrysler 300C may owe more to the Bentley Continental GT,
But Marc may be on to something, it appears the the Green Hornet's car was actually based on the 1966 Chrysler 300. Click here for details.
Joe from Cars.Com
What's new in Fuel Technology? Joe says that the way that Fuel Economy will be measured in 2008 has been changed to be more realistic and representative of what you actually get in today's driving conditions. Accordingly, expect to see worse figures across the board, but be sure to compare 2008 figures with 2008 figures to actually see which cars are more fuel efficient.
Calller: John in West Hills
Why don't they make Hybrid cars that look like Porsches?
They do! In fact Porsche is featuring Hybrid Cayenne (their SUV) at the show.
And don't forget the Lotus inspired Tesla:
Yes, an electric powered sports car with truly amazing performance.
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