Last Friday’s Nightlife computer spot is up on the ABC website. It will be available for download until next Friday evening, October 29.
Category: Radio shows
ABC Nightlife, 16 October 2009. The future of computers
Paul Wallbank and Gartner research director Robin Simpson join Tony Delroy for a special ABC Nightlife computers on 16 October from 10pm to look at where computers are going over the next five years.
Is the desktop computer dead? Will we all be using smartphones or laptops, and what happened to netbooks? Will Windows 7, OSX or Chrome dominate the computer world, and does it matter if all our data is saved on the cloud?
We’ll be answering these and many more questions on the show so tune in your local ABC station or listen online at Nightlife’s website. We love listeners comments, questions and opinions so please call in on 1300 800 222.
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ABC Weekend show, October 4 2009. Conficker, iPods and data allowances
For the October 2009 Weekend we had a look at the Conficker worm which a year after it’s release continues to plague Windows users and has moved Microsoft to offer a $25,000 reward for the heads of those responsible. Details are on the PC Rescue website. Our callers had questions about excess downloads, strange icons and getting data off iPods.
The 702 Weekend computer spot for October 2009 Weekend had a look at the Conficker worm which a year after it’s release continues to plague Windows users and has moved Microsoft to offer a $25,000 reward for the writers. Details on the Conficker worm and how to avoid it are on the PC Rescue website.
As usual, we had a wide range of callers ranging from recovering info from an iPod, strange desktop icons and excess Internet usage and how to avoid it.
Choosing an Internet plan
Alan is finding his Internet connection is always being shaped. That is, his speeds are dropping once his household exceeds their plan’s data allowance. James called with the same problem.
The simple solution to this is to choose an Internet plan with a higher download allowance. For instance, if you are being capped halfway into the month on a 12Gb limit, then you should look for a 24 Gb plan.
When choosing a plan be careful you aren’t locking yourself into a longer term plan as that 24Gb may be enough now, but you may have the same problem of exceeding your allowance in a year or so.
The good thing is both James and Alan are on capped plans as the alternative are excess use plans where you are charged for the usage that goes over the monthly allowance. This is like writing a blank cheque to your ISP and we strongly recommend people avoid them.
We have a rundown on what you should look for at the PC Rescue Choosing an Internet plan page. It’s a useful checklist for avoiding nasty and unexpected Internet surprises.
Unwanted downloads
Having unexpected icons appear on the desktop is a good reason to be concerned and Jan called about a link for McAfee antivirus appearing on her desktop.
The reason for this is probably from a software update. Many packages will now include downloads for other products as part of a marketing deal and that’s probably what happened in this case.
Although Jan’s computer is probably safe, it’s worthwhile downloading and running Malwarebytes just to make sure the system is clean.
Recovering an iPod’s music
After her dad cleaned up the family computer, Nicola found she’d lost her iTunes music. She wondered if it were possible to get it back.
Because the music is still on her iPod, she can copy the music off the device and into a folder on her computer. From there, it’s relatively simple to get the import the music files back into iTunes.
A good guide to doing this is on the makeuseof.com website’s How To: Move Music from iPod to PC in 5 Easy Steps where Mark O’Neill shows you how to go about getting the files off and organising them.
The next show is November 8 and we’ll be looking at what’s in the shops for Christmas. Hope you can tune in then.
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ABC 702 Weekends, October 4 2009
Protecting yourself from the Conficker Worm
This Sunday Simon and myself will be looking at how to protect your systems from the Conficker worm which has been causing problems for millions of Windows users.
Tune in at 702 on your AM radio or stream us online from the ABC Website.
Your comments and questions are welcome so call in on 1300 222 702 or SMS on 19922702.
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ABC Nightlife, 17 September 2009. Taking your ideas to the world
Lars Rasmussen and Paul Wallbank join Tony Delroy to look at how you can take a great idea to the world.
Along with two friends, Lars and his brother Jens came up with the idea of mapping software. Having developed it in a suburban Sydney spare room the took it to Silicon Valley.
This week on Nightlife computers, Lars Rasmussen and Paul Wallbank join Tony Delroy to look at how you can take a great idea to the world.
Along with two friends, Lars and his brother Jens came up with the idea of mapping software. Having developed it in a suburban Sydney spare room the took it to Silicon Valley.
From there, the story gets really interesting and Lars describes the ups and downs of dealing with investors, Venture Capital firms and what happens when your business is bought by one of the biggest companies in the world.
From one success, Lars and Jens are now working on other product and they’ll give Nightlife listeners a sneak preview.
Tune in your local ABC station from 10pm this Thursday, September 17 or listen online at Nightlife’s website. We love listeners comments, questions and opinions so if you’d like to have yours say call in on 1300 800 222.
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ABC Nightlife, 13 August 2009
For the August 2009 Nightlife we had a look at what’s available in the computer stores right now and how much a household user should spend on a system. More details are on the PC Rescue website.
Callers were a diverse bunch, one area that people were really focussed on was how they could speed up Vista chich leades the questions.
Disabling Vista indexing
Tony asked about Windows Vista running slow. The usual culprit is the Windows Search service which has a habit of reducing Vista to screaming and frustrating halt.
To disable the Windows Search service, type Services at the Start Search bar, right click on the Windows Search service and select Properties. In the start type choose Disabled for the start type. Then stop the service by right clicking on it and selecting Stop.
It’s worthwhile leaving the Indexing service off as Microsoft’s indexing service has had problems in the past. If you do find it is affecting some software, then you can turn it back on later.
Speeding up Vista
Steven also asked about speeding up Vista and this is something we’ve covered previously on our IT Queries website. The instructions there cover some of the simplest ways to get more from Vista.
Buy versus rent
On the theme of buying computers, Fred asked if renting was a better option.
Generally renting’s a pretty expensive way to go, as most rental companies aim at the corporate market and the demand for systems for special events and emergencies. Usually the cost of a few week’s rent is more than a cheap system.
Alternatives to Norton
Sandy’s pretty sick of using Norton anti virus and she asked what alternatives there are. We’ve a list of them on the PC Rescue website.
The next show is September 17 and we’ll be discussing what you should be looking for in an Internet connection package. Hope you can join us.
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ABC Nightlife June 2009
The July Nightlife will be on Thursday July 9 with Tony Delroy and we’ll be looking at whether you should worry about the upcoming Windows 7
The July Nightlife will look at whether you should worry about the upcoming Windows 7 on Wednesday July 15.
We’ll be live across Australia on ABC Local Radio. Show starts at 10pm and we’ll be taking questions from around 10.30. Call in early.
Tune in through your local ABC station or stream online through the Nightlife website