Help, I am Out of Hard Drive Space
We've all been there! You want to do some work on your Computer and you keep getting a warning telling you the Hard Drive is Full. Going through your drive and deleting files would be the nice thing to do, especially those ones that just seem to be duplicated throughout your Hard Drive. If you don't have time to do that, adding storage is always a great solution. In fact, with the pricing on Hard Drives currently, it is really to your benefit to plop down a few bucks and get that deal on the 1TB or 2TB drive you ...
Whats Happening today at TechtalkRadio
A Few Days Left to enter the Contest for a Copy of System Mechanic 10 from iolo technologies, today around 3pm we'll give you a chance to win with a trivia question on our Twitter Account http://www.twitter.com/techtalkradio Thats Today Around 3pm Pacific! Also - later this morning tune in for new Audio from Outsourced at we talk with Actor Ben Rappaport and we talk about trends in business with CNBC. We will also feature a new Plug in software for your Video Editing from New Blue!
Congratulations to our Winners of System Mechanic 10
[caption id="attachment_877" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Enter to Win"][/caption] TechtalkRadio is back with some great Contest! Congrat s to our Winner Stuart W of Tucson who won a copy of the System Mechanic 10 Software and to Rey in Phoenix who won while listening to the show. We also gave away a copy of the Software on Wednesday to a follower on Twitter, Leonard L in New Jersey! The Software for the PC is designed to speed up and correst issue in your system that can slow down start up time and cause problems with programs to run. Both Slick and Andy Taylor recommended this ...
New Video FX Plugins – Great Price and Features
[caption id="attachment_977" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="NewBlueFX - Easy to Use and Inexpensive"][/caption] I was fortunate through my years growing up to have attended a high school in Southern California that offered a video production class to which I became a TV Nerd spending time before and after the actual class creating shows and segments for the TV news-feed at school. We had much fun creating Wipes and Dissolves and getting our fellow classmates in front of the Blue Screen and Chroma Keying them into strange backgrounds. It was very basic but fun to do. Our editing was done on a Sony RM440 3/4 ...
Great laptop cooler/stand for notebook computers
We received the USB 3.0 version of the CM Storm Strike Force SF-19 laptop cooler... Until it's removed from the box, it's not apparent how sturdy it is! Made of plastic, metal mesh, and thick rubber...I expect this can take a beating. Notebook computers of up to 19-inch notebook can fit on it. The SF-19 is 1 foot 7 inches wide at its top. On the left side is a "LED ON/OFF" switch, a "MULTI-LIGHT SHADER" switch...and a speed control for the fans, which can also turn them off. On the right side is: the 12 volt power socket, four USB ports, ...
Practically Free Things To Do
Like many of you, I get tired and irritable and just need something to do that is not one of my daily tasks or work related in any way. I usually will break out into an “I’m So Borrrred!” or something like that. Also like many of you I do not have a ton of cash for that dream vacation to the Bahamas or that short jaunt to Greece for my olive oil facial and dreamy Greek masseuse to give it. OK, dreaming aside; Heck! I don’t even have enough time or money to afford to go to El Cheap-O ...
{from their press release}
BELLEVUE, Wash. May 14, 2012 – Laplink Software, Inc. today announced that it will celebrate its 29th year of business by giving away PCmover® Windows® 7 Upgrade Assistant™ for free for one day only – tomorrow, May 15th.
Just visit www.laplink.com and claim your free copy of PCmover Windows 7 Upgrade Assistant. No gimmicks and no strings attached…
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May 12
8
Slice and dice MP3s really nice!
I’m impressed…and that’s not easy to do, ’cause I tend to want too much.
A press release was sent to me about the MP3 Toolkit:
“…a free and powerful Windows app includes MP3 converter, CD ripper, tag editor, MP3 cutter, MP3 merger and MP3 recorder for users who want to handle MP3 files easier.
“You can use MP3 Toolkit to convert audio…fix tag information, rip Audio CD, record sound or merge audio pieces to a complete MP3 file.”
Yeah, yeah, yeah…I’ll install it and check it out…one day.
That day did come…it was at 5 A.M. that day (finding free time ain’t easy with my schedules)…
“MP3 Recorder is designed to…record any sound from the microphone to standard MP3 format without any limitation on length. Also it’s possible to record streaming audio provided that the sound card supports sound mixing…select sample rate, bitrate and channels…”
“CD to MP3 Ripper…choose bitrate, maximal VBR bitrate, encoding quality…rip the audio from CD to MP3, WMA, APE or WAV…”
“MP3 Converter…MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV, FLAC, AC3, AAC or AMR…customize other settings such as bitrate, rate, audio channel…It can also extract the audio stream from popular video formats like MP4, FLV, AVI, etc.”
“MP3 Merger…select files in MP3, WAVE, FLAC or OGG, specify the output settings such as bitrate, rate, audio channel…offers a batch mode that enables merging multiple files in the fully unattended manner…”
“MP3 Cutter…It also has the ability to cut a part of music from a video file, or a movie.”
“MP3 Tag Editor…It supports all ID3v1 and ID3v2 versions. Also, the editor will allow you to edit album photos and lyrics.”
I’ve been looking for something like this: I want to record audio “letters” or “diaries”, stitch them together…and then send the file (or files).
(Some of the formats that are) Supported are…
MP3 Toolkit Input Audio/Video Formats:
AAC, AC3, AMR, ASF, APE, AVI, FLAC, FLV, MP4, M4V, M4P, MOV, M4A, MP3, MPG, MTV, OGG, RM, WAV, SWF, WMV, WMA
MP3 Toolkit Output Audio Formats:
MP3, AC3, AAC (Apple Audio), OGG, AMR, WMA, FLAC, APE, WAV, MPG (Audio)
MP3 Toolkit is compatible with Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, 2003, VISTA and 7…and Windows 8.
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Here are some explanations and examples of what “virtualization” is, and can be…
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…Virtualization software — programs that allow you to run multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single computer…Using virtualization software, you can run multiple operating systems on one physical machine. The technology is now mainstream enough that it is a built-in feature in Windows 7 Professional (and above) and in Windows Server 2008 R2…
Virtualization software runs like any other application. To get started, you power up your computer, load the virtualization program, and install an operating system from its install CD, DVD, or .iso file. In virtualization parlance, the main operating system is called the “host” operating system, and the secondary operating systems the “guest” operating system. Once the virtualization software is running, each subsequent operating system you install on your PC will act like a new computer…
…virtualization software is not for everyone. There is a learning curve in both conceptualizing how virtual machines will function in your network and organization, as well as managing them reliably and cost-effectively…
http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/software/page4826.cfm
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Not all VM software is created equal
An array of virtualization programs are available, and the one(s) you need depends on exactly what you need to do…
…For relatively simple server virtualization scenarios, you can use the free VMWare Server.
…the more virtual machines you want to run simultaneously, the more hardware resources you’ll need on that machine. Each running VM and its guest OS and applications will use RAM and processor cycles, so you’ll need large amounts of memory and one or more fast processors to be able to allocate the proper resources to each VM.
To run multiple resource-hungry servers on one machine, you’ll need a machine with hardware that’s capable of supporting multiple processors and large amounts of RAM and you must be running a host OS that can handle these.
64 bits are better than 32
For server virtualization, consider deploying a 64-bit host operating system. 64-bit processors support a larger memory address space, and Windows 64-bit operating systems support much larger amounts of RAM (and in some cases, more processors) than their 32-bit counterparts…
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-things-you-should-know-about-virtualization/309
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And there is a listing in Wikipedia…
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I felt I needed to give some basic information first, before I inform you that…
Paragon Virtualization Manager 12 Professional is now available!
“…Connect a virtual disk as if it were an ordinary physical disk and open up all physical-disk functionality in a virtual environment. Use a read-only mode or a special read/write mode that creates a snapshot and applies all changes after the snapshot was made to test all configurations without destroying your virtual source drive.
“Virtualization Manager 12 Professional is compatible with products of all popular modern virtualization software providers, such as Microsoft, VMware and Oracle, and supports major virtual machines, including Oracle Virtual Box 4, Microsoft Virtual PC, VMware™ Workstation and VMware™ Fusion.”
Take a deep breath…there are a lot of features in it:
• Migrate a Windows-based computer to a virtual environment…Physical-to-Virtual (P2V), and/or Virtual-to-Physical-to-Virtual (V2P)
• Migrate from a 2TB+ physical drive to a smaller virtual drive
• Migrate from one virtual environment to another (V2V)
• Migrate a Windows-based computer to a different hardware platform (P2P)
• Restore a physical system from Paragon’s backup to a virtual environment (P2V Restore)
• Create a virtual disk with a simple wizard (Create VD)
• Recover OS startup ability after system migration to different hardware or unsuccessful virtualization by a third-party tool (P2P and P2V Adjust)
• Exchange data between a physical environment and a virtual one, or between a virtual disk and its snapshots
• Accomplish virtual drive partitioning (create, format, delete, move, resize, etc.)
• Resume any operation with a virtual volume in case of disconnection or any other unexpected situation.
• Merge volumes on a virtual drive to consolidate disk space, from two volumes on the virtual drive into one single, larger volume
• Supports major virtual machines, including Oracle Virtual Box 4, Microsoft Virtual PC, VMware™ Workstation and VMware™ Fusion
The website for the product is http://www.paragon-software.com/home/vm-professional/
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I have been often disappointed by Windows when making text on my screens larger…
Optimal resolution is supposed to be available, but…when enlarging my display…I have found many applications that have problems. Not so much with text, but the interface of the program being used.
And, Microsoft appears to make two different statements about this issue…at the same time:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Make-the-text-on-your-screen-larger-or-smaller
Problems have been documented:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2556182
I had been faulting the programs that I had problems with, and uninstalled them. Now, for a while…in general…I’m going to try to suffer through my display being “too small”. Until I need to change it for the moment.
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Are you excited? I am. It’s the year of the Spider, Man. After last year, spending 6 hours refreshing my 3 windows in hopes of retaining a couple of tickets for Comic Con 2011, the service they used just plain sucked. It took forever, and when you finally go to the registration page, entered your name and info, it redirected you to a “ we’re sorry but (insert crummy ticket company name here)’s page is at capacity, please try again later.” UGH! Nightmare. But after 6 hours , I got my tickets. That was the horrible beginning.
This year, however I am pleased to announce that the ticket process was a breeze. In early February I received an email telling me I needed to register for a “member ID” before February 29th in order to register for tickets when the time became available. I was apprehensive because they said they’d email us to let people know when their window time frame was to buy tickets. It claimed you would be able to buy as many as 6 tickets. Yeah right, I wont get in and I’ll have to take a day off , I thought. I was hesitant to even register but since we’ve been going since the late 90’s I figured I could try it once again. After all, I do love me some comics, inside scoop on new movies and shows, and of course the swag ain’t bad either. What the heck.
So last Tuesday I didn’t get an email but my better half did. I, in fact got an apology email that they were still working on providing enough logins for people to all register. Whatever, I was getting a ticket somehow. Saturday was the day , 8:00am. Cool! I thought, at least they didn’t make us do it on a weekday as I had dreaded. They also sent a PDF of how to purchase tickets and what to do and not to do. For example, you’d have to wait a turn to purchase and it would refresh on its own every 160 seconds to show your place in line. 
8:01am #9211 – I hoped we’d get tickets. While he waited I saw online that many people had trouble with the link from their email but when they went to the website, no issues.
8:34am – Our turn. After processing our wait time, it directed to a page to purchase our tickets. By 8:36 we were done and had two tickets for Saturday.
Thank goodness they reformed their ticket purchasing practices. This was a lot less of a headache than last year. Saturday is the best day to go. I cant wait to blog about what new things are in store for the geek world! Here’s to a great Comic Con 2012!
If you didn’t register early or get a chance to do so , word is they will be opening up the remaining tickets to the public after this round of sales. Good Luck!
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Mar 12
3
One More Disney Day-saster
February 29, 2012 marked a epic day in Disney history. Disneyland and Disney’s Magic Kingdom theme parks announced on New Years Eve that they will be remaining open for a full 24hours for guests to bring in the Leap Year with a full day of Disney Magic. Beginning 6am on Wednesday and closing at 6am the following morning guests could pul an “all-nighter” in either resort park. It was advertised as a 24 hour par-tay. Along with their experience, guests would be greeted by characters dressed in PJ’s , all night DJ parties, and special foods and merchandise for purchase as only Disney knows how.
The line up began the prior evening around 9:30pm. Yes, people actually stood in line from 9:30pm until 6:00am to get into Disneyland. Was I there? Not a fat chance in … errrr… Mr. Toads Wild Ride that I’d wait that long; but I’m a passholder so I can go whenever I want. Believe me, those people were serious about getting in because that night had to be one of the coldest nights I remember in a long while out here in So. Cal. Why were they lined up? To get exclusive Mickey Ears and Commemorative Pins for the first 2,000 guests. Trouble was, there were over 3,000 guests lined up by 10:30, so not everyone received their freebies. Not to worry, there were special hats available for sale inside as well. 
From what I could gather by social media terms the day of “ One More Disney Day” portion was rather calm. Cue lines were average for a typical February weekday. People seemed to enjoy themselves rather fondly for the most part. The park even did some filming of ABC’s television show “ Modern Family” throughout the park.
The first sign of crowds didn’t show up until the after work crowds began attending the events. After social media reports from Twitter and Facebook came about the short lines and overall crowd indexes being rather calm, annual passholders began pouring into Disneyland. So much so, that around 10:30pm Disneyland turnstyles stopped and the parking structures were at capacity. For those of you who aren’t quite up on Disney knowledge that’s 85,000 people. There were so many people waiting to get in, the lines extended around the promenade and looped back under the monorail gates (easily a couple thousand people). They even stopped selling tickets at one point. These long lines continued and the park opening and closing off and on until 6am the following morning. What a nightmare for the guests and castmembers. There weren’t even lines at this point, just mobs.
Lets cut to inside the park; these are the hidden tales that Disney doesn’t want getting out. Inside the crowds were so thick it was hard to make out castmembers or security. As the evening grew into the wee hours of the morning, reports on social media outlets told tales of underage drunkenness and bottles of alcohol being thrown into Rivers of America. I am sure it was quite a scene and Walt was probably turning in his grave. They clearly were not ready for this 24 hour charade and needed to beef up security instead of chili dog menus.
Overall, reports were that everyone had fun and ‘twas an overall experience to be had by many. You couldn’t pay me enough Disney dollars to deal with the crowds but that’s because crowds aren’t my fortay. Maybe next time Disney decides to do a day of fun in the park, they may decide to presale tickets or some type of lottery for passholders. The One More Day of Disney Day-saster may be avoided and people may not leave feeling left out of the mix.
On yeah, as of 8am on March 1, immediately 2 hours after the park closed, Ebay had merchandise for sale from the Leap Day celebrations. Currently, a hat and pin combo are going for around $50.00 ; about half the price of a one day ticket. So maybe if you missed out, you can say you saved yourself the hassle of the crowds and cut your costs by purchasing them there. 
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The idea to put out Microsoft Windows 8 before the end of the year really shouldn’t be thought as a way to make a few bucks before the predicted Apocalypse but a way to keep the profits rolling in for the software developer.
Honestly, I thought I might just be using Windows 7 till the end of of time. I had finally moved off Windows XP with a brief stop in VistaVille to a great experience with Windows 7 X64. The sturdy Operating System has served well and honestly will continue to do so for I am sure years to come. Will Consumers feel the same? Will they take the plunge and try out something else that looks again like a new interface to learn? This is certainly the question Microsoft would like to see answered with today’s Consumer Preview “beta” rollout and launch in Barcelona Spain. Spain? Why not Seattle?
Word of Caution, while TechtalkRadio has not looked at the technical preview which was made available for developers last September, I would always recommend not installing the Consumer Preview on a production machine, meaning a system you use day to day and is imperative to your operations. The goal of the Consumer Preview is not to give you free software or let you taste the sweetness like a candy at See’s sampled by the lady in the white dress, its purpose is to see how the software interacts with various hardware and software conditions.
If you want to try it out, you should be able to download an ISO of the Windows 8 Preview but also remember , over time this will time out and you will be required to purchase or go back to that copy of Windows Vista or Windows 7!! For more information on this Consumer Preview, Check out http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/home
Posted in Computers software TechtalkRadio by .
Jan 12
14
Happy Caturday Everyone!
Ok, that phrase was used what?? In the 2006’s? Anyhow, welcome back to a new year and a new collection tech related reviews!
There’s no doubt that there are a plethora of cat toys and trinkets at ThinkGeek.com . From automatic cat feeders and automatic lazer toys, to treat mazes and wearable digital cameras, there is a company that stands out above the rest. The “Catit Senses” brand offers a variety of linkable feline fun that will get your little kitty purring in no time.
Here is the finished product. Very sturdy and simple.
I recently received the “ Catit Senses Massage Center” to review. The box was very simple and all of the information was on the outside. It has a gum stimulator on the top that the cats can chew on (instead of your computer wires and cables) and some ridges on the outside for them to rub against and scratch themselves. I was kind of surprised there wasn’t a scratching post part which would’ve fit nicely at the base, but they added comb-like brushes there instead.
It was very simple to put together, just a matter of snapping the top onto the white base, and setting the rubber no-skid mat on the bottom. It came with a small cup of catnip to sprinkle on it as well. Now to get the cat to check it out!
I set the Catit Senses Massage Center out in the walking path of El Capḯtan Negro, our feline friend, to see what he would do. At first he circled it a few times just checking things out. I thought about the catnip aspect, so I added some to the gum stimulator cup and around the base to see if that would get him to explore. He immediately went for the gum stimulator and chewed it a couple gnaws and that was the extent of that. He walked over to the counter where the box was ant began rubbing his cheeks onto the corner of the box! I immediately thought of my grandmother “ Those kids would rather play with the package than the expensive toy inside!” she used to say when we were young geeks.
The next day, I relocated the Catit Senses Massage Center to the floor figuring maybe location change would suffice. I also added the rest of the catnip around the massage center thinking that more is better. He walked over to it after a while, rubbed his cheek on the nubs at the top, then walked away and I’m sad to report has not played with it since. “How in the world am I going to review a product that my cat isn’t interested in?”, I thought.
El Capitan Negro testing out the gum stimulator feature
A few hours later, I put it outside thinking that the playful stray cats outside would enjoy the feeling of a massage. Nothing… not a one of them even sniffed at it. I don’t know if it were because it scared them or they just plain weren’t interested. I figured if any of them would play with it would’ve been the smaller stray cats because they always play with leaves, sticks, etc. Nope.
So basically, my review is this: it was not effective with my cat nor stray cats. The product, however seemed to me very well made and user friendly. I wish I would’ve got El Capitan to use it more. Maybe in the future I will have an update. Let us know if you have tried other cat toys like this and what worked for you. Happy Caturday!
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Andy Taylor - TechtalkRadio Host
(Tucson, Az) TechtalkRadio begins production this week for a RadioExiles weekly version of the latest in Tech and Gadget News in short form for Podcast. The new TechtalkRadio Radio Exiles Show will be available for Free Download at RadioExiles.com on Thursdays.
The TechtalkRadio show created by Andy Taylor and Mike O’Brien has had homes on KPSI Palm Springs, KTKT Tucson, KJLL Tucson and Clear Channels KNST Tucson and also featured as a regular weekly segment on Broadcast Television with the KOLD TV Morning News.
Over the years various show host have joined Andy Taylor for a lighter look at the world of computers, technology and the Internet on the weekly broadcast and internet webcast of the show in what usually amounts to an hour or two of technology. The current show webcast on Saturday Mornings with Slick, Justin and Broadway and features a version of webcast which airs in Grafton West Virginia on WLMN Radio.
According to show creator Andy Taylor, “the Radio Exiles version of TechtalkRadio will still look at gadgets but also provide links and fun sites that can get lost in the muddle of all the news that is available” His show is hoping to make it a fun experience while learning about some cool sites and tricks to use on both the PC and Mac. “Not having to stick to a clock timed one hour format will allow me to share the most relevant information in a shorter time span.”
Don’t let the name fool you, TechtalkRadio is not just for Techies. The show is for anybody who loves the gadgets.
