Personal Tech: Holiday Gift Guide
By Rob Pegoraro, Washington Post Personal Technology Columnist
The Washington Post’s Rob Pegoraro was online for a final time this year to offer ground rules for buying on the cutting edge and answer your questions about the hottest gadgets.
Rob will also answer your questions on Firefox 1.5, the Web browser he reviewed on Sunday.
A transcript follows .
In the 2005 Tech Gift Guide , Rob offered insights for buying digital cameras , mp3 players and home computers . He also filed three audio reports on the same topics. Listen to shopping tips for: digital cameras ; mp3 players and home computers .
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.
Past editions of Rob’s e-letter are online here .
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Rob Pegoraro: Good afternon! Only four and a half shopping days left until Christmas–you can imagine my relief. This is my last chat before that deadline, and my last of the year. On with the Q&A…
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Kenner, Louisiana: What should I look for when buying a LCD television for my bedroom? What should it cost?
Rob Pegoraro: An ATSC digital tuner, without which you can’t watch any digital broadcasts (or, after 2009, any over-the-air broadcasts at all) without yoking an extra tuner box to the set. Unfortunately, you can’t as yet get one built into a screen smaller than, I think, 23, or 26 inches. (That’s why I don’t have an LCD TV on my shopping list this year.)
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Arlington, VA: We would like to buy a camcorder but are unsure of which type. We’re considering the JVC Everio line with the built-in harddrives so we don’t have to worry about tapes. What are your thoughts on this technology? Are these worth the money? We have an Apple iBook and would like to do basic editing and save the movies on our computer or burn to DVD but do not currently own a camcorder.
Rob Pegoraro: I’ve been trying out an Everio camcorder lately, and I do like it overall. It’s substantially smaller and lighter than MiniDV or mini-DVD camcorders, and the video looks great at the two highest settings. OTOH, with a hard drive you’ve got a fixed limit on how much you can tape–I mean, record. Once you’ve maxed out the drive, you have to delete footage or hook it up to a laptop to transfer that (a task made more difficult than necessary by JVC’s omitting a FireWire port). Also, the Everio’s battery life has been pretty weak in my testing–not even an hour.
I’m pretty sure that most camcorders will use hard drives to store video in the future, but I’m not sure that JVC’s logo will be on a big chunk of them.
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Washington, DC: I bought Star Wars 1-6, and I really want to pull all of the battle scenes out and burn them to one DVD, but I can’t seem to get it to work. Any ideas? Do I have to go out and buy a multi-DVD changer, and is there a way to make it only play the scenes I want?
Also, thanks for introducing me to Firefox! Do you know how I can go about getting my gov’t agency to allow us to install this?
Thanks for all the great columns and chats – here is another vote for much more frequent chats from you at minimum. It would also be great if Help File became a more regular/larger/both feature. One thing I would like to see is a review for those of us who can’t afford the big-bucks tech equipment, so an occasional article on sub-$150 digital cameras and sub-$500 computers and the like would be great!
GIVE THIS GUY A RAISE!
washingtonpost.com: Fast Forward: Firefox Moves Farther Ahead of the Hunt
Rob Pegoraro: How can I not take this question? :)
What you need is one of the DVD-ripping programs that the MPAA doesn’t want you to know about–because, after all, it’s illegal to use things you own. Hit a site called
Digital Digest
for info on that.
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Lincoln, RI: Hi Rob,
I bought my nano primarily so I could listen to it in the car. The $80 Belkin FM adapter was a bust (couldn’t find any “free” stations in metro area). I took your advice from a recent chat and bought a cassette adapter (Belkin). That was also a bust – It was so static-y that it was unlistenable.
I’ve searched the online forums and can’t find a consensus on the best adapters. Should I just try them all, one by one, and hang on to the receipts? Can you help?
Rob Pegoraro: There’s no reason that a cassette adapter shouldn’t deliver good sound right out of the box. Have you cleaned the heads on your car’s tape deck any time lately?
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Manassas, VA: How long until you think we’ll have a decent supply of Xbox 360′s in local stores?
I’ve gotta have something to put all that christmas money and gift cards i’m sure to get towards…
Do you think the supply shortage was planned by microsoft to build hype?
washingtonpost.com: Mistake or Not, Xbox 360′s Disappearing Act Feeds Cycle of Hype (December 17, 2005)
Rob Pegoraro: No, I don’t think that was deliberate. *Every* game console in the last decade has launched with major supply shortages.
I’m sure this will clear up sometime after 1/1/06.
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Rockville, Md.: Rob, I believe you’ve mentioned several times now that an ATSC digital tuner is more or less essential, right? If so, does that mean we shouldn’t consider getting monitors that are merely “HDTV-ready”?
Rob Pegoraro: Correct. “HDTV-ready” means the set is not, in fact, HDTV ready, at least in terms of being able to pull in a signal off the air. That may not matter if you’re sure that you’ll always have a cable or satellite box hooked up to it, but why limit your choices unnecessarily?
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Pasadena, MD: Rob, my husband and I are getting ourselves a Windows-based laptop for Christmas. He’s a tech guy who would have preferred Linux, but he knows I need an office suite and internet connectivity in my familiar Windows environment.
After Friday’s WP.com chats, I’m considering getting Open Source software (OpenOffice, Firefox and Thurderbird) to put on it. Point and Click and Sams Publishing have books that purport to teach users of these programs and also include a CD with distributions on them.
Would either of these books get me up-and-running while giving him the “putting one over on Microsoft” feeling?
Rob Pegoraro: I’m not sure you’d need those books–except maybe for the one on OpenOffice. That suite is every bit as complex as Microsoft Office.
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Edmond, OK: I’m thinking about getting a Treo 650. Which carriers do not disable the Bluetooth capability? I want to be able to connect to the Internet with my 12″ Powerbook via Bluetooth and the Treo 650 using a high speed EDGE or EV-DO network. I can connect this way using my Sprint account today, but it’s slow. Any information on using a Treo 650 as a modem?Thanks, Bob
Rob Pegoraro: I think Sprint has released software to allow dial-up networking over Bluetooth, but Verizon has not. (Hell, they haven’t even released the Bluetooth car-kit update that Sprint shipped in the summer. Thanks, guys… you’re doing a heck of a job there.) Not sure about Cingular.
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washingtonpost.com: Transcript: ‘Just Say No to Microsoft’ Author
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washingtonpost.com: Transcript: ‘Point and Click: OpenOffice.org’ Author
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Strasburg: Hi Rob, you had done a Help File(I think) on deleting old updates, and my question is: How do I know whether or not my computer is still using those updates, Hotfix for example?
washingtonpost.com: Help File Archive
Rob Pegoraro: I think this is the advice you’re looking for: HELP FILE
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Silver Spring, MD: Rob, over the weekend, Microsoft announced an official end to support for Internet Explorer for the Mac. Apple stopped including the browser on new Macs with the release of Mac OS X v10.4, but many people on older or upgraded machines still use IE either out of familiarity or a lack of knowledge about alternatives. As someone paid to support Macs, I’d like to take this opportunity to recommend anybody still using IE to switch to Safari, Firefox, or even Opera. You’ll be grateful in the long run.
Rob Pegoraro: Thanks, and I heartily concur with your advice.
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Clifton, VA: Word on the street is the PS3 will be available this Spring for somewhere between $300 to 400. Great price for a HD DVD player and game console. Sony is subsidizing the price for 6-12mos. HD DVDs should be out in Spring or early summer too. Can X360 be used as a HD DVD player?
Rob Pegoraro: No, the Xbox 360 can’t–at least not in its current configuration. But before you trumpet the glories of HD DVD, you have to answer two questions:
1) How do you know that it’s going to be the high-def disc standard that wins out, as opposed to its incompatible competitor Blu-Ray?
2) Do you want to bother with either of these formats when both are wrapped up in multiple layers of copy controls that will stop you from making lawful uses of a purchased disc, and which may not even let you watch a high-def disc in its original resolution on many older displays?
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Falls Church, Va.: A couple of things on Firefox 1.5:
1. It works well! The best new feature as far as I’m concerned is faster page rendering. However, there’s one annoying bug; when I leave Firefox open and then log in using Remote Desktop Connection, or when I “Switch User” and let a family member use the computer, the submenus of the Bookmarks menu get all wonky. Can you (or anyone else) reproduce this?
2. How DO you remove search engines from the search bar?
Rob Pegoraro: 1) Haven’t heard of that issue myself.
2) Here’s how:
WiFi Sharing Etiquette and Modifying Firefox
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Need Santa Claus, Washington, D.C.: Since Santa apparently doesn’t exist or isn’t answering my e-mails, I’m wondering whether you can help: what do I need to consider in buying a portable DVD player for my 8th grade daughter?
Rob Pegoraro: Durability and battery life. Unfortunately, you’re probably not going to get any solid answers on those points in a store. I’d see what Consumer Reports has written on the subject, and if in doubt I’d go with the cheapest name-brand player to include a one-year warranty.
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Reston, VA: Hi Rob – I am in need of a new laptop computer. I have been a long time PC user (my old computer is a Dell) but have been looking at Apple Powerbooks…what do you think of them? Are they worth the extra cash? I’ve also heard rumors that the new MacIntels will be released in January – should I hold out til then?
Thanks!
Rob Pegoraro: Apple’s computers are, in general, worth spending a little more on–especially if you factor in the costs of keeping a Windows PC safe, secure and in a state of good repair. However, PowerBooks are also a tad overpriced compared to Apple’s iBooks.
At this point, I’ve heard so many rumors about new Intel-based laptops debuting at Macworld Expro in mid-January that I’d hold off on buying a PowerBook. With what they cost, that’s a lot to put at risk. (An iBook is less of a risk, with its lower cost.)
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McLean, VA: I’m considering replacing my wife’s old Palm m100 with either a Zire 31 or a Z22. One of her biggest peeves was battery replacement. Do either of these use a built-in rechargable that recharges using USB (like my blackberry)? Is there a better organizer in the same $100 price range that I should be looking at instead?
Rob Pegoraro: Both of them–every organizer Palm sells these days, in fact–use built-in batteries that recharge over USB.
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Herndon, Va.: I know you’ve answered digital cameras questions before, but for non-tech savvy 80 year-old in-laws who want one, what would be your top 1-2 choices for a point and shoot, not too small, that would be the easiest to use – least amount of adjustments, good viewfinder/LCD, simple uploading to an eMac, under $300.
washingtonpost.com: Audio: Rob’s Digital Camera Tips
Rob Pegoraro: Sorry, but the advice I read out on that audio link is the best that I can do. There are a ton of cameras out there that could fit your description–except that I can’t tell you what’s a good LCD and viewfinder for your own eyes anyway.
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Middletown, VA.: We live 70 miles West of Washington DC and can receive our favorite Public Radio stations from DC on our car radios, even when sitting in our garage. However, none of our home radios receives them–ever. Is there any radio we could buy to get the needed reception?
Thank you for your great column! PPB
Rob Pegoraro: From what I’ve heard on and off, most home receivers just aren’t very good. Manufacturers assume that nobody listens to the radio at home, so they don’t put much effort into that particular component. I don’t know if that’s true, but the progress of technologies like satellite radio and HD Radio (digital FM and AM), both of which have been car-first technologies, certainly backs that up.
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Kingsport, TN: $400 Xbox? Bah technology. You ever notice how cheap board games are? You can get an old standard like Monopoly or Clue for twelve dollars! Or if you’re really cheap, you can get a plastic combination checkers/chess set for $3.95! Checkers AND chess! And who doesn’t want another deck of cards?
Yes, my children hate me.
Rob Pegoraro: Isn’t there some 3-D, virtual-reality game of checkers you can play on the 360?
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Arlington, VA: Looking for a simple digital camera, 4 or 5 megapixel, and considering Canon, Nikon, and Sony. My better half is a Nikon-or-die guy. I am not a fan of the shutter delay when “clicking”. Is Nikon really all that much better as a basic digital camera?
Rob Pegoraro: No–in fact, I’ve heard some complaints about the shutter lag on some entry-level Nikons–but if you’re buying for somebody who’s a Nikon fan you might as well try to make them happy.
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Washington, DC: Do you think the Garmin Nuvi 300 will drop in price soon?
Rob Pegoraro: Sure–if I’m allowed to redefine “soon” until the price drops. (Point being, *everything* in consumer electronics gets cheaper if you wait long enough.)
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Bethesda, Md: Rob: I’m looking for a PDA that will be used for info storage, without a lot of complicated features and as small as possible. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Rob Pegoraro: The Palm Z22, dim, low-res screen and all, is the one for you.
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Bealeton, VA: Looking for a home computer system for performing Microsoft Office programs and e-mails. No gaming.
washingtonpost.com: Audio: Rob’s Personal Computer Tips
Rob Pegoraro: The cheapest PC or Mac sold will allow that. (Remember that on either type of computer, you’ll need to pay extra for a copy of Office–budget an extra $150 for the Student and Teacher Edition)
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Arlington, VA: Re: Clifton, MD
The PS3 will be supporting Blu-Ray, Sony’s format, and not HD-DVD.
Rob Pegoraro: Er, yeah, that’s right. Duh. (I’m typing this with a cold that’s been hanging around since Wednesday–I’m blaming any typos and mistakes on a Nyquil hangover.)
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Silver Spring, MD: My husband wants the Lexmark photo printer. It’s a printer with a CD player/card slot. I don’t think it needs to be hooked up to a PC to work. I’ve tried printing photos from home before and decided the .39 cents you pay at the mall was worth it because they have to keep the printer working and full of toner/paper. Any thoughts on this special purpose model?
Rob Pegoraro: Not a fan of that category of hardware–as you point out, you can get prints almost as fast from any kiosk. And you can print them for much cheaper by ordering online. Plus, you can just get a photo-capable inkjet and use that for your 4-by-6s.
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NYC: How can I transfer my iTunes catalog from one computer to my new computer? Some songs were bought through the iTunes store. I will be getting rid of the old computer.
Rob Pegoraro: Just copy over your music folder from one computer to the other, then deauthorize the old machine before you send it… whatever destination you have in mind. iTunes will ask you to authorize the new machine the first time you play any purchased song on it; you only need to do that step once.
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Toronto, Canada: What is the qualitative difference between a Dell PC bought on line and a PC bought from my local computer store with the same configuration?
Rob Pegoraro: I have no clue. I don’t know your local store and I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen or used any computers assembled by it.
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Both my husband and I have computers at the office and therefore do not have one at home. It is looking as though we should have one at home. Now the debate is PC or laptop. Uses would be internet, brief letters, record-keeping, etc. Probably not any gaming. I would really like your opinion on this. I am in a terrible quandary. Thanks.
Rob Pegoraro: You mean desktop or laptop, right? There is no right answer, only these basic guidelines: If you have a desk in mind for the computer, then get a desktop; if you’re going to get a wireless network, buy a laptop.
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St. Petersburg, FL: Thanks for taking my question! (submitting earlier because I have a meeting). Every time I leave my computer (brand-new Powerbook G4, running OS 10.4) for a few minutes, it goes into sleep mode which automatically signs me off all my online connections. Therefore, I have to wait take the computer out of sleep mode and wait a few minutes for it to recognize the Internet signal. Is there a way to keep my computer online even when I’m away (like for iChat purposes). I have checked all the screensaver options and can’t seem to figure it out. Thanks!
Rob Pegoraro: Check Power Options and Security in the System Preferences window.
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Lopez Island, WA 98261: This is more a New Year’s Resolution question than a gift one. My e-mail box is overloaded with stuff I don’t want to delete completely. What I’d like is a mega-disc that I can dump all this stuff on and FIND again by date and/or headline. Does such a chaos-reducer exist? I should add that it is not just e-mail per se, but newsletters, which are a bit longer.
Thanks.
KD on Lopez
Rob Pegoraro: Many e-mail programs let you archive a selected mailbox to any other location–ideally, just by dragging it out of the mail program’s window to the icon of the new folder.
But if you’re only looking to store newsletters, you may not need to do that at all. Check each newsletter to see if there’s an online archive; if so, junk the old copies. Why use your own hard disk to back them up when somebody else is doing the work for you?
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Ferdinand, Ind.: Hi Rob,
I’m looking to buy a turntable with a built-in preamp so I can transfer some records over to cds. Don’t want to spend a bundle…any suggestions?
Rob Pegoraro: I have not touched a vinyl record in years–I gotta throw this one out to the crowd. Any takers?
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Falls Church, Va.: My McAfee virus software just expired so I got the free AVG Anti-Virus. Should I delete McAfee from my machine or just turn it off. Also I have heard that the Windows XP Service Pack 2 firewall is very good protecting you from inbound problems but it doesn’t alert you to outbound traffic. Do you think this is a problem that means I should disable the Windows Firewall and use Zone Lab’s ZoneAlarm instead?
Thanks
Rob Pegoraro: Running two anti-virus programs at once is a really bad idea. Yes, get rid of McAfee. Your understanding of the Windows firewall is correct, but if you have outbound traffic to worry about then your PC is already infected; ergo, the real problem there is ineffective virus or spyware protection. Keep the bad guys out and you don’t need to worry about outbound screening so much.
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Oak Creek, Wisconsin: What do you think about this Light Scribe technology that HP has come out with for labeling CD’s and DVD’s??
Rob Pegoraro: I like it. I think it’s a good solution to the disc-labeling problem; I wish other computer manufacturers offered it, or something like it.
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Moorpark, CA: Until there’s an update on the Bookmarks Synchronizer extension (and which auto syncs bookmarks on multiple PCs via a secure ftp backup, all to the same, backed-up file), Firefox 1.5 isn’t worth the effort. It’s currently in 1.0.1, and doesn’t work with Fv1.5 I’ve tried several alternatives, including some you’ve reviewed, but that’s the only one that works painlessly, for multiple PCs, to a remote location. Any way to gauge when it might be updated, or when/if Firefox will incorporate something like it?
Rob Pegoraro: Try the del.icio.us Firefox extension, which lets you store and share your bookmarks on that site.
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Seattle: In your review of Firefox 1.5, there is no mention of the change in how security options are managed for new sites.
Before there was an icon in the lower right where cookies and pop-ups for a give site could be accepted.
That is no longer there, and the function is not in the Preferences tabbed option dialog box.
Where are these options controlled now?
I have sites that Firefox will no longer let me enter!
Rob Pegoraro: Where they’ve always been, in the Options window’s Privacy category. And what sites can you not enter under Firefox? Name names…
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Somewhere…: Hi Rob, sort of a dumb question, but do you have to have a subsciption to have a wireless network or do you just get the equipment and you’re set?
Rob Pegoraro: You need an Internet connection of your own. All you’re really doing with WiFi is replacing thick Ethernet cable with a wireless signal.
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Suffolk, VA: If you were shopping for a large screen TV (50″ or greater) and you didn’t need to hang it on a wall (e.g. a plasma), what technology family would you be looking at? Would you put a value on new technologies like 1080P? Any specific recommendations (make, model)? Please assume a budget of $2K to $4K. Thanks!
Rob Pegoraro: 1080p (i.e., a TV with 1,080 lines of resolution updated progressively, or all at once) isn’t worth any consideration unless you’ve got a TV in the mid-50s. And even then, you need to figure out what you’ll watch in that resolution, since nobody broadcasts at that level of quality and nobody is likely to anytime soon.
In that budget range, I’d still look at plasma first, then microdisplay. Most microdisplay sets–DLP, rear-projection LCD, LCoS–have viewing-angle issues that aren’t present on plasma sets.
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Easton, PA: Hello Rob,
I’m looking for a basic Mini-DV camcorder in the $300 – $400 range. The output formats are confusing, and I’m not sure if I need to upgrade major components besides a new hard disk to be able to make DVD’s that will look decent.
Thanks!
Gary
Rob Pegoraro: All MiniDV camcorders save video in the same DV format; the difference is in how they connect to a computer. You want one that transfers via FireWire, which is a much simpler process than via USB 2.0 (think: driver hell). Unfortunately, camcorders with FireWire ports generally don’t come with FireWire cables (duh).
On the computer, you’ll need a matching FireWire port, a DVD burner and a fast processer–yes, in this category that does come in handy.
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Record player: Just get a standard component record player with the red and white RCA output connectors in the back. Get a RCA to 1/8″ plug and plug the record player into the back of the sound card. Then, play with the levels on the software mixer in Windows to get the levels right.
Rob Pegoraro: Thanks!
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Reston, VA: Turntable: Audio Technica AT-PL50 at Best Buy. It has a little switch (under the platter I think) and I just plug it directly into my Audigy2 sound card inputs.
Rob Pegoraro: Thanks, Reston
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Washington, DC: I have a three-year-old Gateway with WX Pro and 30 GB hard drive. May I simply substitute a 100 or more GB hard drive or do I need some accessory to upgrade.
Jerry
Rob Pegoraro: You don’t need any “accessory,” but you do need a plan on moving your data. If you add that 100-gig drive as a second disk, you have to decide what data will go on which disk, and which organization will leave the most room for future growth (nothing’s more annoying than finding out that your C: drive is down to its last 200 megs of free space, while D: has 25 gigabytes open).
If you’re replacing one drive with another, you need to have some way to back up your data before reloading Windows, all your applications and your data on the new drive. On a three-year-old PC, I don’t recommend just duplicating the old hard drive’s contents on the new one; you’ll probably see a healthy jump in performance from reloading everything from scratch.
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San Francisco: I recently had to wipe my hard drive clean to remove a partition. When I tried to reinstall Norton Antivirus, I discovered it wouldn’t let me download the program unless I was using IE. I’m a devoted Firefox user, and I find it rather ironic that a security company would fail to support a more secure browser — or ANY other browser — than IE. I decided to ditch Norton & stick with free AV solutions instead.
I know there have been instances where certain government websites haven’t supported Firefox too. If certain companies/agencies/websites are only compatible with IE, they are, in essence, compromising everyone’s security by encouraging a segment of the market to continue using IE instead of alternatives.
What are your thoughts on why some sites insist on IE & when will they see the light? Thanks.
Rob Pegoraro: At this point–Firefox is up to about 15 percent share in the U.S., maybe more–anybody who would knowingly limit access to their site to IE is either a fool or an idiot. Sorry, but there is NO technical justification for sending away customers like that. Just think about how long your local grocer would stay in business if 15 percent of customers got booted for wearing the wrong color shirt?
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Strasburg, VA.: What’s the differance between LAN and Broadband? Thanx
Rob Pegoraro: LAN = local area network. It’s an acronym that nobody in home computing should ever use, since “home network” communicates the same idea in actual English words.
Broadband = any really fast Internet connection. It’s either always-on, or the wait to connect has to be within a few seconds. See DSL and cable-modem.
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Tina in Falls Church, VA: Quality home “table” radios at C. Crane (www.ccrane.com)…..I have one that I bought to replace the beloved Sony table radio from the 80′s. Boston Acoustics make a home HD radio, it’s about 400 bucks (yikes) and Tivoli is making a satellite table radio. The stuff is out there ya just gotta hunt hard for it…and none are cheap
Rob Pegoraro: Thanks, Tina. The price (and pathetically limited selection) of both home and car HD Radios has to make that technology one of the bigger busts of this year. Watch for more on that in my year-in-review column, coming up two Sundays from now.
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Reston, VA: So where does an HDTV antenna fit in. I have a regular Radio Shack antenna in my attic and what to replace it with a better one. What good will it do with a standard TV, or an HD-ready TV???
Rob Pegoraro: There isn’t any such thing as an HDTV antenna–digital broadcasts use the same frequences as most analog UHF broadcasts. That’s why you can often use any old antenna lying around the house and get good results–I’ll bet the one in your attic is all you need.
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Augusta, Maine: I’m interested in getting a blackberry or some other PDA or pocket PC that I can link with my email account at work. IS there any device other then a blackberry that can pull email out of the air, when, for example the hotel wants to charge $10 or $100 per day per computer for WI-FI?
Rob Pegoraro: Sure – Treos and T-Mobile’s Sidekicks both come with e-mail programs that can check any standard (POP or IMAP) account on demand. But if your office uses some proprietary setup like Exchange or (god forbid) Notes, you’ve probably gotta check with your IT department to see what they support.
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Bethesda, MD: Has anyone looked at the ‘Total Cost of Operation’ for HDTV? In most places (and for any multi-family dwelling) you’ll need cable, and premium-cable-plus-digital-plus-HD at that. We’re talking over $1000 a year, no?
Rob Pegoraro: Sure, but the TCO for analog TV is up there as well. Especially if you do get cable, which is by far the most expensive way to watch TV. Look into pricing for satellite, and see if you can’t get by with just over-the-air reception (which can be a lot better with digital than analog, once you’ve got the antenna squared away to pull in the available signals).
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Washington, D.C.: “An ATSC digital tuner, without which you can’t watch any digital broadcasts…without yoking an extra tuner box to the set.”
“That may not matter if you’re sure that you’ll always have a cable or satellite box hooked up to it…”
Okay, you confused me. Is the ONLY reason I would opt for an ATSC tuner is to pull in broadcasts over the air? So, if I will always have a cable box hooked up to the tv, then an ATSC tuner is NOT required?
Rob Pegoraro: Yes… except that most TVs with ATSC tuners also come with CableCard slots, which can free you from having to deal with a cable box as well (although you do give up being able to use the cable company’s program guide or watch video-on-demand programming).
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Falls Church, VA: Hey Rob, I have a three-year old Toshiba Satellite laptop that will not let me adjust the power settings – attempting to do so under the XP Home System settings brings a prompt to use the Toshiba Power Management tool, which in turn cannot be launched. Recently, the computer has unilaterally decided to “nap” – aka turn off the monitor – if five minutes goes by without activity. Any suggestions on how to remedy this situation or should I pony up and call Toshiba tech support?
Thanks!
Rob Pegoraro: Call Toshiba. It’s their software that’s malfunctioning. But I think I can guess already what they’ll recommend: Back up your data, then use the system-recovery CD or partition to reinstall everything from scratch.
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Bethesda, MD: Re: Firefox-hostile sites. The only site I haven’t been able to get to work on Firefox is the DC Geographic Information Service site (dcgis.dc.gov). Internet Explorer only! And soon (with the unavailability of IE for the Mac), Windows-only.
Rob Pegoraro: That address is coming up 404 for me. I guess that’s one site you won’t have to worry about anymore :)
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Rockville, Md.: A couple more plasma TV questions — how important is availability of HDMI inputs, and do you think the extra features of a consumer model (e.g., built-in speakers, which may not be included in an industry model) are generally worth the extra cost?
Rob Pegoraro: You do want HDMI inputs–a form of digital, copy-controlled input that you’ll need to watch external video sources (cable box, satellite box, HD DVD or Blu-Ray player) at peak quality.
I agree about the superfluousness of speakers. Haven’t any of these companies noticed how many big-screen TV buyers plug their sets into home-theater systems?
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Woodbridge, VA: Any idea why DSL is not available in Woodbridge? Thanks
Rob Pegoraro: I’m pretty sure DSL is available in some parts of Woodbridge (one of my coworkers was on his way to getting hooked up, last I checked). But if it’s not available in your neighborhood, the likeliest reason is that homes there are spaced a little too widely to make DSL a profitable proposition for the phone company. That’s just one of the trade-offs you make for living in particular areas–you get a bigger yard, but you may lose other things.
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Bethesda, MD: Re: 404? You didn’t look carefully enough. On the bottom where it says ‘More information’ you get a link to ‘Microsoft support’. The page works with IE.
Rob Pegoraro: That’s not proof of it being IE-only–the page opening right in IE is. (What probably happened was that whatever nimrod set up the site to block non-IE browsers typed in the wrong address for the “please upgrade your browser” page; instead of seeing some nonsense argument about having to use IE, you get the 404 page).
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Reston, VA: Since you are talking about TCO of cable, etc., what is your feeling about FIOS TV from Verizon? Thanks…
Rob Pegoraro: Pricing seems great! But I haven’t seen it or heard from anybody who’s subscribed yet–not surprising, since it’s only available in Herndon around the area.
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Arlington, VA: Hi Rob, I have a 37-inch LCD HDTV. It has DVI inputs but the Comcast HD DVR I use only has HDMI output. What should I do?
Rob Pegoraro: You mean that DVR doens’t offer analog component-video outputs at all? I think you and Comcast need to have a long talk–and I’d like to hear about that conversation myself. If Comcast is only offering DVRs that require HDMI, they’re shutting out essentially *all* the early adopters of HDTV. That is, the people who have spent more than anybody else to enjoy HDTV, the people who know their technology and the people who won’t buy some generic hand-waving explanation about changing standards. If so, great business practice there!
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Louisville, KY: If I could make recommendation on the new laptop/desktop question, I would say that if money is no option, definitely go for the laptop. You will be surprised how often having a portable computer will come in handy.
Rob Pegoraro: Thanks, Louisville.
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Washington, DC: My wife just bought a WiFi-ready Dell laptop for travel. She bought XP, Windows Office w/Excel, McAfee security software. She transferred photo editing software and other personal software from her old desktop. She bought a laptop bag and my son “bought” her a wireless mouse for Xmas. I would like to get her something for it, but have absolutely no idea. Did I miss anything that’s really hot that will save me this Xmas?
Thanks!
Rob Pegoraro: One of those USB memory keys? An external hard drive for backup purposes? (I’d go with the latter; memory keys are dirt-cheap these days, unless there are some jewel-encrusted models in the Nieman-Marcus catalog.)
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Reston, VA: Can I import all of my address books and bookmarks from Netscape 7.x into Firefox? Gary
Rob Pegoraro: No. Firefox is a Web browser, not a mail program. What you want is Firefox’s cousin Thunderbird (nearing its own 1.5 release).
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Milwaukee, Wi: what’s a good but cheap (less than $250.00) dvr/vcr combo that will allow me to copy old video tapes to dvd and allow me to copy tv programs to dvd without the extra Tivo like add-on costs? (I saw a Magnavox – Progressive-Scan DVD Player/DVD+R/+RW Recorder/VCR Combo MRV700VR/1 that on sale for a little over 200 bucks).
Rob Pegoraro: I can’t recommend specific models, but I can offer my general advice: A recorder that uses DVD+ and DVD+RW media offers the best combination of recording flexibility (being able to delete a recording already on the disc) and compatibility (being able to play the disc in other players and computers). DVD-R is next, followed by DVD-RW; DVD-RAM is compatible with essentially nothing, although it offers almost as much flexibility as a hard drive.
Some DVD recorder/VCR combos also include an internal hard drive, which you can use for temporary time-shifting (like with a TiVo, but without the monthly subscription). That’s probably the best combination overall, but it will also cost more than $200.
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – again: Yes, I did mean desktop or laptop. The problem is that I hear and read so many horror stories about wireless which is what makes me question the advisability of a laptop. Any guidelines or reading material you could suggest? I appreciate your advice.
Rob Pegoraro: Horror stories? Wireless? I’m not familiar. Wireless can be a pain to configure, but so can any other form of networking–or even a simple DSL or cable connection. As far as security goes, if you take basic steps to protect your connection at the start you’ll be as secure as you would be with a wired connection.
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Reston, VA: Rob,
Multiple sources mention that LCD TV’s use less energy than plasma TV’s. I was wondering, do you know how the plasma sets electrical demands compare to those of CRT TV’s? Can you recommend any sources that elaborate on that topic by type and, perhaps, size?
thanks,
Bill
Reston
Rob Pegoraro: I haven’t seen any detailed reports on this besides one that the Natural Resources Defense Council did a year or so ago; it found that while the average plasma used more energy than the average LCD, the pattern broke down with individual LCDs and plasma sets. There’s also a secondary problem; LCDs use power at a constant rate, because they have to keep every pixel lit all the time, while plasma power consumption varies with the brightness of the screen.
Most sets do list their peak power consumption, but those numbers tell you nothing about average consumption.
I’ve had a few long talks with a program manager in the EPA’s Energy Star office, and I know they’re working hard to coming out with some kind of guidance–but I don’t know how far that work is from some kind of results.
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Cleaning hard drive: I’m a mac user who likes to try out freeware, etc. I’ve noticed my folders becoming cluttered with files that I have no idea what they go to or if I even need them.
Is there software that will identify these kind of files (and cookies, etc.) and delete them for me?
Note: I am NOT super computer literate.
Rob Pegoraro: On a Mac, you shouldn’t need any special software; just look for the names of folders. Usually, they will either bear just the name of the application (“NeatoFreeScreensaver 2004 Preferences”) or the name of the developer in an Internet address-like syntax (“com.randomdeveloper.neatofreescreensaver”). Either way, doing a file search for the developer’s name (and confining that search for the Library folder in your home account in OS X) should be all you need to do.
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Worthington, OH: I just installed a new version of Norton Antivirus 2005 and now find that the Norton Auto-Protect feature doesn’t always work because of conflicts with my Creative Audigy sound card. Norton provides solutions to this problem but the solutions don’t work permanently. Any ideas? (short of changing sound cards).
Rob Pegoraro: Changing anti-virus programs? I’ve never even heard of this–which just goes to show what a wonderful range of interesting problems you can encounter on PCs today.
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VA: What would you suggest as a present: interest was shown in the cool tower MP3 player speakers at Sharper Image (about $200) – but they are back-ordered and no guarantee they’ll be in by Christmas. Have you heard them, are they good? Should I just get the full system that also includes the 4-disk changer and radio and will hook into the TV? Is there another speaker for MP3 player (not an iPod) that you would recommend that like the tower doesn’t take up room, but has good sound?
Thank you so much!!
Rob Pegoraro: Have a look at the collection of reviews from Playlist magazine (an offshoot of Macworld): Playlist: Product Guide: Speakers for your iPod
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Don’t go yet, Santa: Or Rob, for that matter. I’m looking for a software program that enables me to burn songs from iTunes onto CD and normalize the audio level at a decent volume. The iTunes setting for this is too low. What do I do?
Rob Pegoraro: If you’re burning those CDs from non-iTunes purchases, you should be able to use any other CD-burning program–for instance, either of the Roxio or Nero suites that we recently reviewed should include that option. But with iTunes Music Store downloads (which should already be at the right volume anyway), you’re limited to iTunes.
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Arlington, VA: Follow. I’m the one with the 37inch HD with DVI.
Of course the comcast box has components, but I know DVI is a much better picture.
Rob Pegoraro: Sure, but you can’t use it because Comcast won’t allow that an unrestricted digital output. (Comcast, in turn, has its hands tied by the movie studios that insist on this sort of technological control.)
This is why I keep harping on the evils of “digital rights management” and “content protection.” These schemes vary in their details, but they all wind up punishing the innocent while failing to stop the massive commercial piracy that causes most of the losses the studios worry about so much.
And speaking of which: If your congressional reps sit on the House Judiciary Committee (
Membership
), you should take a moment to tell them to oppose the idiotic “analog hole” bill just introduced by the committee’s chairmen. It would make even that component-video workaround unfeasible–and add to the cost and complexity of consumer electronics and computers in the bargain. That bill is H.R. 4569, the “The Digital Transition Content Security Act of 2005.”
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washington dc: Hi Rob,
I have a Nikon N80 (film) SLR camera and attachments. I want to go digital and am considering the Nikon D70 or the D70s. Will I be able to use the lenses I’ve acquired for my N80 with either of these digital cameras? I know the d70 and the d70s use the standard Nikkor/Nikon lens mount, but don’t know if my standard lenses would work or not….obviously, it’s a plus to me if I can use the lenses I already have/am already used to and don’t have to spend $ to get another version of these.
Thanks.
Rob Pegoraro: Not sure. Any Nikon experts around to answer this one?
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dcgis.dc.gov: Did you notice that the “Help” link on that 404 error takes you to Microsoft Support? I wonder if they’re being intentionally anachronistic or just dumb.
Rob Pegoraro: You’re attributing far too much cleverness to the Webmaster. Odds are the entire dc.gov site runs on Microsoft servers–or so Netcraft ( Site report for dc.gov ) seems to think–and so you’re just seeing a generic, server-generated error page
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Augusta, Maine: I am looking for advice to purchase a simple PDA that can get email. I’ve looked at CNET and read up on the Treo, Blackberrys, and Palm TX. I am torn between the TX and a blackberry and wonder if I should be considering one of the HP ipaq pocket PCs. Any advice?
Rob Pegoraro: Take a look at one of the models running Windows Mobile 5–not anything running Win Mobile 2003 SE, which is now badly out of data and which may not be upgradable to WM 5–and see if you like the interface. I don’t think they’re much better at e-mail than Palm or Blackberry handhelds, though; the selling point of Windows Mobile is more in things like the tight fit with Windows and the smoother sync experience.
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Reston, Va.: I’d like to get a laptop where I can do video editing (using Pinnacle software). It there a laptop out there that is strong enough for this? Thanks…
Rob Pegoraro: Sure–that’s been possible for a while.
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Chantilly, VA: Stupidity question.. can the contents of an iPod get erased by a magnet?
Rob Pegoraro: If it’s strong enough, I suppose, but I haven’t heard of it happening myself. You didn’t wear your iPod to an MRI scan, did you?
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Answer to d70 question: Regarding the lenses from the N80 to the d70 – Yes you can use them, but remember that the focal length will change from the 35 to the digital – has to do with the sensor, ect… best bet, take the focal length and mult. by 1.5, this will give you the focal length for the lens on digital.
Rob Pegoraro: Thanks!
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for Nano user: Hope this isn’t too late, but when playing an MP3 player through a cassette adapter, make SURE that the volume on the Nano is turned up almost all the way. A sure-fire way to get crappy sound is to put a weak signal into the cassette adapter, and then crank up the car stereo.
Rob Pegoraro: Thanks!
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Anonymous: I can identify with the person whose Norton AutoProtect is interfering – since Norton was installed on my work computer about 2 months ago, Google Desktop Search (which used to be my favorite utility) has been rendered completely useless in Outlook. I can search for emails, but when I double-click to open them, nothing happens. I’m guessing that the PopUp Blocker is somehow preventing Google Desktop from opening the emails, but no matter how many times I tell Outlook to delete the Norton AntiSpam plugin (Tools->Options->Advanced->COM Plug-Ins), it keeps reappearing. Since it’s my work computer, I can’t just switch programs. Thoughts? Thanks!
Rob Pegoraro: Actually, if the pop-up blocking in Norton is at fault, you can turn that off without affecting the anti-virus component. That’s what I recommend in general; the ad-blocking features in Norton Internet Security were, well, kinda worthless in my experience.
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Starsburg, VA.: Concerning my question about wireless networks. Other than a router, what are all the components you need to create a network(provided I have internet)?
Rob Pegoraro: Once you’ve got an Internet connection–it can be dial-up, but it’s kinda pointless without always-on broadband–then you just need a router (aka a “base station” or “access point”) to broadcast the signal, then a receiver on each computer that will use your new wireless network.
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Washington, DC: Hi Rob. I’m befuddled by Verizon’s website and I’m trying to make a decision about my next cell phone purchase. I’m due for a “new every two,” which gets me a pretty hefty discount, and I’m considering their new RAZR phone or else the Treo 650. Both work out to about the same price (for the gadget itself, with my price breaks). The thing I can’t figure out is the monthly plan…is it way more expensive to get the data/email/whatever plan that supports the Treo than it is to get a regular “cell phone plan” (like I currently have) for the RAZR? I guess I just can’t figure out how the Treo plan works, and I don’t trust the kids at the Verizon store to help me figure it out… Thank you!
Rob Pegoraro: The math on that is confusing. Basically, with Treo handhelds you buy a data bucket of x many megabytes a month–last I checked, $20 for 10 megabytes. That covers all non-voice use: messaging, picture e-mail, Web browsing, whatever.
With other phones, you pay for those non-voice services separately–one line item for messaging, another for Web browsing.
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Manassas, VA: Satellite Radio and HTIB (home theater in a box)
Are either Sirius or XM offering any free (or free with subscription) receivers this holiday season?
And second — my parents (not so tech savvy) want to upgrade their home theater system – mainly with a surround sounds speaker system. I’ve seen many HTIB sets, however they all include DVD players. Have you seen any decent ones that just include the receiver/amplifer and speakers with the appropriate inputs?
Rob Pegoraro: Don’t know of any free Sirius or XM receivers, but a bunch are available for less than most ATM withdrawals.
Yes, you can get home-theater-in-a-box combos built around just a receiver and the speakers. Here’s one retailer’s product listing:
Home Theater & Audio/Home Theater Systems/Home Theater Audio Systems at Crutchfield.com
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Laptop for Video…: What is confusing in getting a laptop to edit video is that I can not get a handle on what the speeds are for all the different processors out there. Is there a site that gives the equivalents of different processors to the more understandable Intel “3.0″ designation?
Rob Pegoraro: Intel’s numbering scheme really is a mess. They could have started naming processors after flavors of ice cream and created no less confusion.
If you want more details about comparative processor speeds, you’ll have to dive into enthusiast sites like Tom’s Hardware or AnandTech. But even then, the speed of a processor alone will tell you little about the performance of the overall system–you need to look at things like hard disk speed and processor caches and bus speeds if you want to be sure you have the fastest system available.
I think it’s a lot quicker to find a make of laptop you like, then pick one processor out of a particular line that seems best oriented to video editing.
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Washington, DC: Rob–A few months ago, I bought a Dell Inspiron 700m (which I love). I got MS Office Home Edition for it, because I would be using it at home and I was being cheap. Now I realize I’d kind of like to have PowerPoint. Is it too late? Is there a financially reasonable way of getting PowerPoint? I’m worried that I made a horribly wrong move…
Rob Pegoraro: If you only need to view PowerPoint shows, you can download the free PowerPoint viewer app from Microsoft’s site. If you need to create them as well–but don’t need to work on presentations with other PowerPoint users–download the free OpenOffice. But if you need to create and collaborate on PowerPoints, you’ll have to suck it up and buy Office (at the Student and Teacher rate, for which you most likely qualify, it’s a better deal than buying just PowerPoint at the full retail rate).
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Wash, DC: My laptop has a built-in DVD+RW, but my understanding is that I need a program to use the drive for burning. Any suggestions for a solid DVD+RW burn/erase interface? Thanks!
Rob Pegoraro: You mean the manufacturer included the DVD+RW drive but not the software to use it? Huh?
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Washington, D.C.: My septuagenarian parents are driving across country. They would like a cell phone and plan that simply allows them to dial a number and use a total of 30 or 60 minutes and then discard/recycle the phone. Does anything like that exist?
Rob Pegoraro: Sure – get a prepaid plan, preferably one that runs on the Verizon, Sprint or Cingular networks (which should have better coverage, Verizon especially, in the boonies than T-Mobile or Nextel).
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Chantilly, VA: Looking for suggestions in home theater equipment. Prefer a unit that has a dvd player with an am/fm tuner. Also, want something with a small ‘footprint’ – I don’t want a bunch of speakers all over the room as the room is relatively open and I don’t want visible wires running all over. Bose has a system (321) but it’s rather pricey. Any other suggestions?
Rob Pegoraro: There are lots of other so-called HTiB systems out there that should meet your needs, most much cheaper than Bose. Look in the same part of the store that has the Bose 321 system installed–we looked at a Denon all-in-one last year that used just three speakers to simulate surround-sound in a way that my reviewer found quite appealing.
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Norton/Outlook: I’m the one with the Outlook issue – I meant to say that I’ve already turned off PopUp Blocker through Norton Options, and it hasn’t helped. I disabled AntiSpam too. I’m befuddled. Anything else? New job?
Rob Pegoraro: Try turning off everything but Anti-Virus in the Norton suite. But getting a job that doesn’t require using Outlook is not something to rule out :)
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Rob Pegoraro: OK, gang, I gotta throw in the towel here. It’s been about two hours and I’ve got a busy, but short week of work ahead of me. Thanks for all the questions, and good luck with the last-minute shopping. I’ll be back here Monday, Jan. 9, when we can compare notes about how all of our tech gadgets broke within five hours of being plugged in. Merry Christmas!
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