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Personal Tech Q&A

Posted on: Tuesday, 8 November 2005, 06:00 CST

By Rob Pegoraro, Washington Post Personal Technology Columnist

The Washington Post's Rob Pegoraro was online to answer your personal tech questions and discuss his recent review of Apple's Front Row software .

A transcript follows.

Want to know what upcoming topics are being covered? Sign up for the Fast Forward e-letter -- get updated information on personal technology news and product demos. Read past editions of Rob's e-letter online here .

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Rob Pegoraro: Good afternoon! We've got lots of questions today--but, strangely enough, none are about Apple's Front Row software, the subject of yesterday's column.

I'll start off the chat with a question of my own: What topic would you be more interested in reading about this Sunday--a Microsoft-compatible office suite that's free to download, or a portable video player that plugs into a digital video recorder for fast, easy transfers of recorded shows?

Let's get started...

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Dundalk, Md.: Hey Rob - Is it true that there are other devices out there that do the same things as the new Video iPod? If so - why are the other companies letting Apple get away with making it sound like they were the inventors of the Video world?

I was listening to a local radio program, WOTA Radio, this weekend and they made mention that there have been other video players on the market. I know it's true that Apple came up with the Video iPod but not necessarily the portable video technology. Even PSP beat it out on the market..

Steve Jobs - Please get off your high horse.

Rob Pegoraro: As my first post noted, there are video players besides the new iPod. I don't think Steve Jobs or anybody at Apple has ever implied otherwise... their contention is that they've made a better video player than the competition. (And that's what I'm trying to find out in potential column topic no. 2)

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Edison, NJ: Having a problem viewing movies in the wmv format. What software will work with this format? Now using Window 98SE but will switch to new PC with Window XP Home Edition next week.

Rob Pegoraro: You shouldn't have any problem with XP (the version of Windows Media Player that runs on that is a lot newer than what you can run in 98 SE). But in the meantime, try VLC media player , a free, open-source download that often works when other video programs don't.

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Washington, D.C.: On my Windows XP at my home computer, the local ISP set me up with Outlook Express in order to receive e-mail; at work, however, I notice that we use Outlook (and not Outlook Express), and as Outlook seems much better because of its folder options and other options, how can I convert to and use Outlook on my home computer?

Rob Pegoraro: By buying a copy--Outlook does much more than Outlook Express (it's horribly misleading for Microsoft to use that name; it's as if Chevy called the Cavalier the "Corvette Express"). The cheapest way to buy Outlook, in turn, is to pick up the "Student and Teacher Edition" of Office. Name notwithstanding, it's sold to the general public (Amazon has it for $125).

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Upstate NY: Hi Rob -

Is there security protection for Wi-Fi on handhelds? Or, too "small fry" for intruders to bother?

Rob Pegoraro: Yes (I mean, yes to the first sentence). All the handhelds that I've tried with WiFi have supported at least WEP security (which isn't much, but it's all you're likely to get at most WiFi access points). I know Windows Mobile 5 also supports WPA, a newer, much better form of encryption; not sure about Palm OS offhand.

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Washington, D.C.: Any quick, continuous way to convert my WMAs to MP3s? I bought into Window's claim that WMAs were the way to go for digital music. Needless to say this leaves me w/o use of an IPOD (should I buy one).

Thanks, Rob.

Rob Pegoraro: Download and install a copy of iTunes; the first time you run, it will offer to convert all your WMAs to MP3s or AACs (the default format in iTunes is AAC, but I recommend you change that to MP3).

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Tucson, Ariz.: I have a question about the extensions available for the Firefox web browser. There is apparently an Internet Explorer (IE) extension that simulates IE under Firefox. My question is whether if that includes the ActiveX function control? Many sites - eBay just one example - requires ActiveX to correctly display and manipulate photos to be uploaded to their website. Any ideas?

Rob Pegoraro: I don't know, and I'm not in any rush to find out. The whole point of using Firefox is to get away from security risks like ActiveX. FWIW, speaking as an eBay seller with a whopping 11 positive feedback ratings, I've never felt shortchanged by not being able to use eBay's picture tools. I just crop the image how I want on my computer, then upload it with the standard Web form.

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Silver Spring, Md.: I just got a Dell laptop with Norton Internet Security on it. I could not get non-browser-based programs (Office Update, Google Earth, etc.) to work without deactiving Norton Internet Security. With "shields down", I ran the security test the program provides. The report came back with all ports in Stealth mode on my wireless network. Is that enough security or do I need to reconfigure NIS to allow non-broweser Internet traffic?

Rob Pegoraro: Your WiFi router probably has a firewall of its own, which is where you get that "stealth" rating. I suggest just using the Windows XP firewall, mainly because I think something's already amuck with your NIS copy. (Out of the box, it should at the very least ask if you want to let those non-browser apps communicate with the Internet, instead of blocking them outright.

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Merion Station, Pa.: What product on the foreseeable horizon comes closest to being the all inclusive in-home product for computing, entertainment, communications, interactive participation, etc.? Is it likely to be a component connected to existing product or a completely new self contained unit?

Rob Pegoraro: You must be talking about the "It" product in all those eBay ads :)

In all seriousness, no such product exists. Convergence is a hard thing to get right, and especially when Hollywood wants to make said convergence as technologically complicated as possible with heavy-handed copy-control schemes.

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Bethesda Md.: Is it true you can burn a cd purchased from itunes (copy-protected), and then -rip- it onto your computer to 'disable' the copy protection. Is this true, legal or 'damaging' to the quality of the music?

Great columns/chats, Rob.

Rob Pegoraro: It's true, legal and not particulary damaging--you might lose some sound quality at the margin from the re-encoding process, but I suspect that most people won't hear it at all.

The same goes for files bought--not rented--at other stores, such as MSN Music, Napster, Yahoo, Rhapsody and Sony Connect. If you can burn the song to an audio CD, you can re-rip it in the format of your choice.

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Laurel, Md.: I'd like to put out a call for people to boycott Sony music. Their new DRM installs software that compromises your system, and they make it invisible and provide no way to remove it! We need to speak to Sony with out wallets and let them know we won't stand for it.

Rob Pegoraro: Laurel is talking about the bizarre copy-restriction software embedded in some new Sony Music CDs. Sony's record label seems to be trying to extinguish the pressed-CD business entirely with nonsense like this; why would you pay more for an audio CD when that disc basically infects your (Windows) computer and offers far less fair-use rights than a downloaded copy off a store like iTunes?

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Coffee Shop Owner: Rob-You seem to know a lot, so maybe you can answer this question for me: When local governments or even coffee shops offer free internet, can each user be identified so that the gov't can still identify a user who was engaged in illegal activity (like downloading child porn, e.g.)? If I own the shop, can I identify the users? If a coffeshop provides access, is it responsible for its users?

Rob Pegoraro: Every user who connects to any WiFi access point can be identified by at least their computer's MAC (Media Access Control) address, an alphanumeric identifier burned into the WiFi receiver at birth. But that MAC address won't say anything about you in particular.

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Woodley Park, Washington, D.C.: Hi, Rob,

Have you had a chance to check out Apple's new photo editing software Aperature? Is it a serious threat to Photoshop's domination or just another snapshot enhancer?

Thanks

Rob Pegoraro: No, and I have no idea--generally don't review $500 software! I'm sure the Post's photo department is looking at it with a great deal of interest, though.

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Arlington, Va.: Is there any hope for Windows? I had 2005 Norton Internet Security on my pc, which i updated daily. Also, Ad-Aware and SpySweeper also updated daily. All of which i used to scan my Pc regularly. Nevertheless, for unknown reasons, one day the expiration date for my subscription to NIS became "corrupted"--It set itself to a date in 1899 and i was unable to update. Following the instructions at the Symantec site, i was unable to unistall NIS and ultimately had to wipe my OS (Win Xp) and start all over again. (What good is a firewall and antivirus prgm if you can't update it?) How do these things happen? And, is there any way to prevent them? This is the 2d time in 2 yrs i've had to re-install my OS.

Rob Pegoraro: Is anybody from Microsoft reading this? I get stories like this with distressing frequency in e-mail and these chats. I would say there *is* hope for Windows... if you keep up to date with security alerts, install more secure replacements for some Microsoft components (i.e., IE) and be disciplined in your use of "free" software. I mean, I've had a Windows laptop in daily use for the past three or four years at home, and it's never gotten a virus except when I tried to get it infected.

But doing the right things to keep Windows safe requires a lot of technical savvy, and sometimes even people who do the right things can get hamstrung, like Arlington here. That's why Apple's market share has started growing at a pretty significant rate--people have decided that it's not worth putting up with this risk if they can do all the things they want with a Mac.

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Washington, D.C.: I am about to buy an iPod ( and as a result, start to use iTunes). A question about your comment about iTunes: " the first time you run, it will offer to convert all your WMAs to MP3s..", only the first time??? I have many CDs and it may take a while before I start to use iTuens. Thanks

Rob Pegoraro: No, you can do that anytime. The "Advanced" menu in iTunes has a "convert selection" item that will convert a non-copy-restricted file (like WMA files you copied yourself) into either MP3 or AAC format, or whatever other default you've set in iTunes' Preferences window.

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RE: Sony DRM: Is Sony putting that evil, evil digital rights management code on EVERY cd they release? Is there any warning on the labels of affected cds such that we (the consumers) know what we're getting into?

Rob Pegoraro: Not every CD, or even most--the figure washingtonpost.com's Brian Krebs reported was, IIRC, 21. Those discs have, or should have, a small-type warning on the back that says, in generic terms, that the disc might not work in all computers. (Retails can and should add their own warnings; Amazon is pretty good at this, for instance.)

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Louisville, KY: I'll ask a question about Front Row. Where do you put it? Next to your TV? Do you put a couch in front of your computer? I'm not sure exactly what Apple expects people to do with Front Row, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Rob Pegoraro: Finally, *somebody* asks about Sunday's column topic :)

The "where do you put it" dilemma has been the single biggest issue with Microsoft's Media Center software too--it's worse with Media Center, since that software is supposed to replace your TV and DVR. Front Row doesn't try to take on that role; it's basically supposed to be used to expand the enjoyment of your media beyond the one person using the keyboard. The idea is, as I understand it, that you don't need to put the Mac anywhere special. Just leave it wherever you'd normally put it, and the next time you've got friends over (or just want to play some music while you do other things) you pick up the remote control.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Rob - could you remind me how to transfer my Outlook messages and contacts to a new computer? I know you're supposed to save and import several files, but I don't remember which ones, and I don't trust Microsoft's Help feature enough to rely on it. Thanks.

Rob Pegoraro: You need to export your .pst file, which encompasses *all* your Outlook data. Here's the how-to article on Microsoft's site... one can only hope this procedure will be less Byzantine in next year's Office release.

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Washington, DC: Rob - I hope this is not a question that you are asked every few days...

I'm considering changing mobile carriers (I've been with Sprint for a while, and they're not perfect but I've been relatively happy). It seems as though (in the Wash, DC region) Verizon has the most reliable network (Metro, gov't buildings), but really lame phones. Cingular and T Mobile have better phones but aren't as "reliable." Are there any major developments in store for any of these carriers or any others? For instance, what hae the results been of the Spint/Nextel merger?

Rob Pegoraro: Your perception of these carriers is pretty much on target. Verizon just can't seem to resist the temptation to cripple a perfectly good phone for reasons that make zero technological sense... I'm not much of a fan of its non Palm/Windows Mobile phones. But it's hard to beat Verizon's network (hence, I use Verizon myself).

I don't see any major changes in this state of affairs. Other companies can catch up to Verizon aboveground, but in the subway the GSM carriers would have to string their own antennas, which is a really difficult, expensive proposition (even setting aside the current exclusive deal Metro somehow saw fit to give to Verizon).

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Davisburg, Mich.: I have been considering moving to Apple. Should I wait for the Intel based machines? I can not keep changing platforms as I am retired and have limited resources.

Thx

Bob

Rob Pegoraro: Hard to say... the latest rumors suggest that we might see an Intel-based Mac mini as soon as the spring, but I wouldn't put much money on that just yet. I would probably wait for Intel-based models, but that's mainly because I want to be able to get the greater Windows compatibility they'll offer. Another reason to wait would be if you'll be running processor-intensive tasks like video editing; the Intel chips available next year should really outpace the current Mac processors.

Otherwise--that is, if you're buying a Mac to run Mac software only (which is what I reckon most people do) and aren't looking to do more than plain old computer work, there's less reason to wait.

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Baltimore, Md.: Rob, I'd like to videotape my mother reading children's stories, talking about her life, etc. and then get it copied to DVDs. (I don't think editing will be needed at all.) Talked to one professional videographer and he quoted me $3500 (which includes editing), which I can't afford. Does it make sense to rent equipment to do this? Or pay a college student who has the knowhow? My mother lives in a retirement community and may be able to find other people to do the same thing. What do you suggest? Thanks!

Rob Pegoraro: For $3,500, you could buy a digital camcorder, plus a Mac and a PC equipped with DVD-recorder drives and video-editing software.

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Rob Pegoraro: So far, it's three votes for the video-player review, two for the free office suite. But one of the video votes said he was also really curious about the office software.

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San Diego, Ca: What do you think of mce technologies offering a slot loading superdrive upgrade for the tray loading ibook G3 for $199? Russell, U.S. Navy

Rob Pegoraro: I wouldn't buy it. How much video editing do you really want to do an iBook G3?

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Washington, D.C.: There is a Macromedia Flash Player video that I'd really like to download from the internet, but "save target as" doesn't work. Is there any way to save or capture a video in this format? Many thanks...

Rob Pegoraro: Not that I'm aware of, no.

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Brunswick, Maine: Rob,

I'm looking to replace my Dell Axim and LG 4650 cell phone with a smart phone. Don't want a camera, don't want a keyboard, but I do want a solid unit that offers voice command and speakerphone capabilities with a Windows platform for the PDA functions. Your thoughts & recommendations please. Thanks.

Rob Pegoraro: I tried and basically liked the 6700 phone Sprint is now selling. It does include a keyboard and camera, but you should be able to find simpler, cheaper models running the smartphone edition of Windows Mobile 5 before long.

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Boston, Mass.: Rob, it may just be me, but I'd rather you do an article on the Sony root kit than either of the proposed topics. I think the move that Sony has made is pretty bad, and speaks volumes about their disregard for the customer.

Rob Pegoraro: I may save that for a larger piece about what we might call copyright absolutism--the belief among some of the biggest copyright holders that their ownership of some intellectual property should grant them unlimited rights to tamper with their customers' hardware and force technology manufacturers to act as their own privatized form of law enforcement, all so that they can be paid for every imaginable use of their content for all eternity.

Oh, wait, I've already written that. Probably about three or four times now...

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Death of handhelds?: "I concluded that the new-car smell is gone from this market, and that there may not be much time left for standalone organizers such as these." Yikes. I got a T-X based on your pre-review recommendation during a chat, and then you came out with this death sentence?!

Anyway, given that I feel lost w/o a handheld, I'm happy w/it.

Speaking of security - my home network has WEP. It seems to have a 64-digit code (my counting might be imprecise), but that doesn't fit the list of code types from which you're supposed to choose...?

Rob Pegoraro: I didn't say that handhelds had no point, just that the market has, um, matured--and that Palm is missing some obvious ways to get some excitement back into the market. It's a little disturbing how rudderless that company has looked over the last few years; they're quite lucky that Microsoft let Windows Mobile spend a few years in its own relative stasis.

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Upstate NY: Rob -

There's spy/adware that I've not been able to get rid of, with Ad-Aware, Spybot, PestPatrol, and Yahoo Anti-Spy. I see lots of clearly-suspect executables in C:-Program Files-Common Files. So, should I go ahead and delete them?

Rob Pegoraro: Maybe not. How do you know they're suspect? Have you tried running Microsoft's free Anti-Spyware? (It's still in beta, but it's worked very well on the computers I've installed it on.)

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Washington D.C.: I have a wireless system 802.11b at home, using 2 windows xp machines with WEP 64 security (password all numeric). I just bought a mac laptop. It recognizes the network but refuses to accept the password to make the connection. When I remove the passwork the laptop makes the connection. I hate to have an unsecured network at home. Any ideas?

Rob Pegoraro: 64-bit is the weakest form of WEP. Switch your network to 128-bit and you'll make it a little harder for other people to break in. (I mean, having an all-numeric password is like leaving the key to front door taped to the bottom of the mailbox; the protection is there, but any dolt can get past it in moments.)

I've never had a problem with an Apple laptop connecting to a 128-bit WEP-secured network.

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Arlington, Va.: Is there filtering software that blocks indecent websites for your home computer while it's installed? Blocks it from all users including the administrator.

Rob Pegoraro: *Including* the administrator? I think it would be easiest to get a WiFi (or wired) router with its own Web-filtering software built in, as some do these days. That way, the screening doesn't take place on the computer at all; even if somebody brings another computer home, they'll still be blocked.

Obligatory disclaimer about Web screening in general: It doesn't work perfectly, or close to it. You'll probably be able to surf to porn even with the software in place, while you'll probably also find that some legit sites are wrongly blocked by the software.

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Arlington, Va.: I question the contention that the video iPod is that great when the video playback options seem a bit limited. I say this because so much content out there is in a DiVX encoded .avi files. I guess the issue is, can you get enough processing power in an iPod to deal with the compression that those DiVX codecs use, and would a video iPod be able to get additional codecs, patches, etc. Personally, it'd be great to watch things such as, anime fansubs on one of these devices, but with conversion from .avi to whatever formats the iPod can use, would it be just too much effort?

Rob Pegoraro: I guess the market will figure that one out... I am seeing a lot of effort being put into software to ease or automate the process of converting video files into iPod-compatible formats.

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New York: Rob -

Bit early, but considering the current offerings (I assume we'll be deluged w/them in the coming weeks), what tech item would make a winning gift to sophisticated techies?

Rob Pegoraro: I don't have a good answer to that--well, any answer. First, you need to figure out what gadgets the would-be giftee already has. You don't want to buy somebody their second iPod nano. You also need to know their own tastes; are they particularly fond of Nikon or Kodak digicams, for instance?

In short, buying gadgets as gifts is just like buying any other manufactured item, with the added risk that you may wind up being the giftee's principal means of tech support.

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Fairfax, Va.: When is Microsoft releasing the new version of its OS?

Rob Pegoraro: Microsoft says it will ship Windows Vista, the long-delayed successor to Windows XP, in time for the holidays next year. In Microsoft time, "for the holidays" has to mean getting it in stores and to computer manufacturers by August or September. A lot of things have to go right for Vista's development between now and then for that goal to remain possible.

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Cayman Islands: How do you think the sidekick II compares to Treo and blackberry in terms of features, portability, ease of use etc?

Rob Pegoraro: The Sidekick II compares very well on ease-of-use and price grounds with both the Treo and the Blackberry. It's also much cheaper to use, thanks to the T-Mobile's data-plan pricing. But the Sidekick also offers far fewer features than either the Treo or the Blackberry. (The Treo offers the most features, both in terms of what's built in, like the camera and MP3 playback capability, and in terms of what third-party software you can run on it).

The biggest drawback to the Sidekick is that it's T-Mobile only, which means you're on one of the weaker--if not weakest--networks in town around here. (I'd be glad to test T-Mob's network in the Caymans, but our travel budget is just about shot for the year.)

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Laurel, Md.: For the person having trouble connecting a mac to a WEP protected router. I had the same problem when i got an ibook. You have to enter the password in hexadecimal format for it to work. WPA works as usual.

Rob Pegoraro: Thanks, Laurel. Hexadecimal means the 0-9 plus the letters A through F. You should be able to look up the "hex" equivalent of a numeric password in your WiFi router's admin software. But, again, you shouldn't use an all-numeric password anyway, and once you do that you'd have to enter a hex password on every computer, Windows or Mac.

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Fairfax, Va.: For the people with wma files -- the Creative Zen mp3 player is what I have and it plays them. I've been quite happy with it and thought the review a few weeks ago didn't quite do it justice.

Rob Pegoraro: Thanks!

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Rockville, Md.: Is there a site where I can purchase mp3 music? I want to be able to play music on devices other than iPods. Their m4p format is getting really annoying.

Rob Pegoraro: I assume you mean "a legitimate site" (you can spend your dollars at allofmp3.com if you want, but personally, I'm a little reluctant to hand over my credit-card company to some random company in Russia). Fortunately, you can buy music in MP3 format at plenty of aboveboard sites; the only catch is that they only stock the works of minor and indie record labels. Try emusic.com, downloadpunk.com or smithsonianglobalsound.com

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re: DRM: I think it is a topic you cannot write about too much. Originally copyrights were for a very short period of time (closer to the 17-odd years of patents) and were meant to protect artists and musicians. Nowadays they have become a way for corporations to forever control content. It gives them no incentive to price appropriately to the age of content (c'mon that Led Zeppelin Album has been paid for a billion times over). And the more invasive they become, the better educated people must be, by journalist's such as yourself.

Rob Pegoraro: Rest assured I have not written my last on this subject!

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PChandled Retiree: Appreciate your chats. Please help me.

I have a Hewlett Packard that is not more than 4 years old. I have the most recent anti-virus package from Norton but it seems that since I installed this program I have had more problems with my computer than I remember in the past. Constant popup messages inform me mostly of potential threats, that are usually harmless, and the scans that I run to appease the Norton program interfere with my tasks. Most recently, after my husbands last use of the computer, there is a warning message that has blocked out my screensaver. It tells me that my computer may be infected with spyware although my virus scan tells me differently. The only thing is I can't seem to get this message off my screen. Any thoughts?

Rob Pegoraro: That sounds a lot like a spyware infestation to me--a lot of spyware tries to persuade you to download it with some false virus-warning screen. If you haven't read the computer-security how-to I wrote last December , now would be a good time to give it a look...

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Arlington, Va.: Rob, Any advice on buying an external harddrive for file storage? Thanks.

Rob Pegoraro: First, buy more space than you think you might need. Second, if there's any chance you'll connect the thing to Macs as well as PCs, make sure it can connect to FireWire as well as USB 2.0 ports. Third, make sure you don't lose the thing!

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Free Virus Scanners: Have you ever done any stories or looked into the free Virus scanners out there? I'm curious if they function as well and detect viruses as well as the big names like Mcafee and Norton. I recently abandoned Mcafee because I despise how they changed to the yearly update like Norton. I've switched to Avast virus scan and it seems to work well, but I don't really know. Any ideas?

Rob Pegoraro: I'm planning on writing a comparison of these in the next few weeks. (I'd originally thought I would have written it by now, but there's been a few high-profile product launches since then that I've had to cover first.)

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Baltimore, Md.: What is an efficient, lightweight, hopefully low-cost way to be able to access e-mail and the Internet while on a business or vacation trip? Is a laptop PC the only way?

Rob Pegoraro: The smallest and cheapest method is a WiFi-enabled handheld. Smaller yet, but possibly not as cheap, is to just use Internet cafes while you're away--you don't have to transport anything that way. You can also, y'know, not check e-mail on vacation. That's still allowed, last I checked...

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Rockville, Md.: Hi Rob,

I have a strange issue with my sister's HP PC and I have no clue. All of a sudden, the sound does not work. Sound had been working; she turned it low and now nothing. We've done the following:

1. confirmed that the speakers were connected and volume on high

2. used volume key on keyboard to set it at highest level.

3. Used Troubleshooter function in computer to confirm that sound was on (the computer has a step by step process to follow).

Any thoughts? thanks

Rob Pegoraro: It's been 10 years since Win 95 supposedly put an end to this, and some people are *still* suffering through sound-card-driver issues :(

I would try using System Restore to take the PC back to an earlier state first. That's probably the simplest possible remedy. Then I'd hit HP's site for the latest version of the sound-card driver and download that.

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Rockville, Md.: Subject: Tiger & MS Office compatibility.

This last summer I added 512MB to my iMac (the gloo with the sail) and upgraded to Tiger and iLife. Since then, my MS Office Word, Power Point, and Excel have been useless. Whenever I try to open anything coming in in any of those formats, I get an announcement about "optimizing font performance, and then one by one come pop-ups advising that "Font Geneva (this or that and an endless string of others) is corrupt and should be removed." I click OK, and then a warning about the next font in sequence pops up, and so on ad infinitum. I have to go to Force Quit to break the grip. I called Apple service, which guided me through a font check, finding nothing wrong. I've tried to find Help under MS Office, but find nothing relevant other than a statement that Office is compatible with Mac Tiger. I've downloaded every offered update from both Apple and Microsoft, but the problem persists. Have you had any other encounters with this problem? Any guidance on how to eliminate it?Many thanks.

Rob Pegoraro: Haven't seen that problem on any of the Macs I've used with Tiger and Office 2004 installed. Font-file corruption can happen, though; I think the Font Book utility in Tiger has ways to look for them.

Another option (explained in

this MacWorld article

) is to delete the font cache Office keeps for itself.

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FTP problems: Rob -

I've started using ZoneAlarm's personal firewall, and I love it for helping to block the spyware and backdoors out there. However, it seems to have prevented me from using FTP to post to some personal websites. Any suggestions on configuring ZoneAlarm, or getting a good (free) FTP client that can deal with the port blockages?

Thanks!

Rob Pegoraro: There's gotta be a way to set ZoneAlarm to allow FTP (that's short for "file transfer protocol") uploads... the whole point of having a firewall is to regulate your traffic, not block it entirely. But I don't know offhand how you'd do that in the current version of ZA. Sorry, that's a total cop-out of an answer...

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foggy bottom: Have you heard anyting about motorola introducing its razr phone for verizon?

Rob Pegoraro: Supposedly it's coming soon--as in, by the end of the month. But the reports I've seen also indicate that the Bluetooth on the Verizon RAZR will be crippled, supporting only Bluetooth headsets.

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Takoma Park, MD: My question is about Front Row. I have been using it for a week, and have found it to be a great way to use my iMac G5 for accessing content. I stream music via Airport Express, and Front Row is an excellent way to control the music. Your column seemed to focus on the deficits in Front Row. Don't you think it is important for an innovative company like Apple to get products out that are not fully complete, but which exhibit potential? I think this is an excellent way to get input, and to gain a base of user support during the development cycle.

Rob Pegoraro: Sure, but Apple's reputation is to obsess on the details so the product, even in its first, limited release, looks and feels like a finished product. Front Row feels just too 1.0-ish... I can see leaving out things like, say, the ability to turn on DVD subtitles with the remote, but how can you not program the software to scroll titles that won't fit on the screen? That's basic usability--the very thing that Apple's supposed to get right when nobody else will.

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Washington, D.C.: Hey Rob, why do you recommend using the MP3 format rather than the AAC format on iTunes?

Rob Pegoraro: Compatibility: MP3 will play on just about any computer and in any music program in existence. AAC is more efficient, from what I've read, but those files are a lot less portable. I'd rather trade some disk space--which is dirt-cheap anyway--for the knowledge that my music files will play just about wherever.

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Baltimore, Md.: To buy or not to buy a plasma HDTV. That is the question

Rob Pegoraro: And if you're looking to buy a set bigger than 40 inches but smaller than 42 inches, I think "yes" is the answer. Below 42 inches, it's a tough call; the cost of 37-inch screens is getting to be equal in LCD and plasma. Above 42 inches, plasma gets expensive in a hurry. You'd save a lot of money with a DLP, LCoS or rear-projection LCD set, even if you have to deal with a thicker screen and lesser viewing angles.

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Rob Pegoraro: It's 3:30--time for me to sign off. Final vote tally on the next-week's-column ballot is 3 for the video player, five for the office suite. (Speaking of voting, here's my public-service announcement of the day: If you live in Virginia, please don't forget to do so tomorrow.)

Thanks... see you here in a couple of weeks.

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Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

Reported By TechNews.com, http://www.TechNews.com

(20051107/WIRES /)

Source: Newsbytes

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