The Geekcast #111 Show Notes: Contact info: | Feed: feeds.feedburner.com/geekcast | TheGeekcast.com | geekcast@gmail.com | Skype & Gizmo: Geekcast | 206-98-geek-1 | Show notes: send blank e-mail to geekcastpodcast-subscribe@yahoogroups.com | Frappr Map: Frappr.com/thegeekcast ************** Items of Note: There are currently no items of note. ************** Tech news: Microsoft Vista Goes Gold. After five years Microsoft has said that development of Windows Vista is complete. Windows chief Jim Allchin said Microsoft signed off on the code less than an hour ago. "It's rock solid and we're ready to ship. This is a good day," Allchin said in a conference call. Allchin said Vista will go on sale to consumers Jan. 30. He said that Microsoft is releasing Vista in five languages. The French, Spanish, and Japanese versions were actually signed off on before the English version. The software maker has scheduled a November 30 press conference to announce the new operating system, along with Office 2007. The release of Vista will mark the first full fledged update since Windows XP in 2001. MacBook's get Intel Core 2 Duo Processors. Apple has released new MacBooks featuring the Core 2 Duo. The newest member of the Apple portable family comes in three configurations: white 1.83 GHz and 2.0 GHz, and black 2.0 GHz. Apple claims these new chips give up to a 25% boost over the previous MacBooks. The top of the line model also features a 1GB of RAM standard, a double layer SuperDrive, and 4MB shared L2 cache (as opposed to 2MB in the other models). The entry level machine starts at $1,099. Don't Want to Get Sued by the RIAA? Just Disable Wi-Fi Security! OUT-LAW.COM has reported that Tammie Marson of Palm Desert, California responded to a file-sharing lawsuit from the RIAA by stating that her wireless network was not secure, and that therefore the file sharing seen on her network could have been from any passerby. The defense worked, and the RIAA dropped the case. As an El Reg article points out, "If this becomes a popular defense, it could seriously hamper a huge number of file-sharing lawsuits taken in the US against individuals. It also looks to be a trend in defense against movie file-sharing lawsuits." Microsoft plans to shut down its MSN Music Store this month. A report on CNet's News.com claims that the store originally launched in a doomed attempt to battle iTunes will soon begin directing music fans to either the Zune Marketplace or RealNetworks Rhapsody websites. This is poor news for Microsoft's existing hardware partners, as it clearly shows that for Redmond, support of the 'Plays for sure' program is waning as the company applies its muscle into its Zune player. While MSN Music says that people who have already purchased songs in the WMA format will still be able to use their songs, it clearly also shows the threat proprietary standards expose users to, should parent companies decide to withdraw support for them in future. TWIT Lives On. In response to all the postings about the possible death of the TWIT podcast, Leo Laporte has posted on the TWiT.tv website saying the show will continue. He writes:"I had no idea what a storm my little sentence would generate. Hey, I was tired, dispirited, and trying to figure out how to do a show without any contributors. I really didn't mean to scare you! Thanks so much! I've exchanged emails with all the TWiTs and we've agreed to keep the show going, with some new systems in place to reduce burn out (including my own) and keep the shows fresh." ************** Test a geek: Three questions, three answers. Enjoy a brand new edition of our quiz segment. ************** How To: The Windows File Shredder When you delete files from your computer, the file itself is not deleted. You only delete it's entry on your harddrives 'table of contents'. This is how people like the FBI can recover files from a computer. If you have sensitive data that must be fully deleted, there is a way to have a file 'shredder' on your system that will not just delete it's TOC entry but also overwrite the file itself with 0's and 1's so that the file is gone forever. The shredder consists of two items: The SDelete utility, freely available from Sysinternals, and also a small batch script that you will write in Notepad. First, download SDelete onto your computer and save the SDelete.exe in your C:\WINDOWS\system32 directory. Now we will create a batch script that will make our shredder. Open Notepad and enter the following: @echo offecho .* * *W A R N I N G * * *echo .echo .The File(s)/Folders(s) Will Be Permanently Deleted!echo .echo .Press CTRL-C to Abort and Terminate Batch Job Or...echo .pausesdelete -p 4 -s %1pause Once you have this in your document, save the file as shred.bat on your desktop right next to your Recycling Bin. Now any time you want to delete a file, just drag and drop those sensitive files onto the icon to make them disappear forever! Please keep in mind that this will do the job for most people but if your data is extremely sensitive, you may need an alternate solution. Also please note that any file you 'shred' will almost certainly be gone forever, so be sure you want to delete it. ************** Ask A Geek: This segment will return on a future episode of The Geekcast. ************** Hack: How to Save a Wet Cell Phone Ever dropped your cell phone in the sink, or even worse the toilet? Did you ever leave it in your pocket and run it through the washer? It usually means you have to replace your phone, but sometimes if you're fast you can save the phone. Before we begin, please note that this WILL void your warranty and this may make the phone even worse. Please know that you take all responsibility by performing the steps below and I am not responsible for your phone or any injury you may sustain from this. Here's what you have to do: 1. Remove the Battery. This is one of the most important steps. Cutting power to your phone is a crucial first step in saving it, then remove your SIM card, some or all of your valuable contacts could be stored on your SIM. 2. Dry your phone. You need to remove as much of the water as soon as you can to prevent it from getting into the phone. Use a towel or a paper towel to remove as much of the water as possible. 3. Allow the phone to dry. Since you do not want to ruin your phone or lose all the numbers in your phone book, you need to allow the phone to dry. Also, ringtones and graphics stay with the phone, not the SIM. Also, don't try putting the battery back on to see if it works as this would risk damaging the phone with a short circuit. Leaving your phone in a bowl of dry rice will help to expedite moisture evaporation. 4. Heat your phone. Apply enough heat to your phone to cause the water to evaporate without water-logging your digital screen. One of the best things you can do to save a cell phone is to set it on the back of your computer monitor or TV screen over the heat vents. This is usually the perfect amount of heat to fix your phone. The convection action of the heat vents will help carry away the moisture in your phone. Leave the phone on the heat for at least 2-3 days. 5. Test your Phone. After you have waited 3 days, make sure everything is clean and dry looking and re-attach the battery to the phone and see if it works. If your phone does not work repeat step 4. If it still won't work, try taking your cell phone to an authorized dealer. Sometimes they can fix it. Alternative Alcohol Soak Method: 1. Soak your phone in Alcohol. Alcohol attracts water and it will dissolve all the water in the phone, which will then pour out of the phone with the alcohol. Any remaining alcohol will evaporate. Alcohol will not harm your phone but may mess up glue from stickers and the like. Use 95% alcohol, not the regular 70% rubbing type. Do it outside!. Be sure to remove your battery first. When done, leave your phone outside for a day or two to dry. Warnings: Don't heat the battery or it could leak acid. If you use an oven or hairdryer, make sure to remove the battery first.If you use alcohol make sure to do so outside, and do not apply heat in any form, not even the gentle heat of a monitor. Do not hook up the battery till the alcohol smell dissipates.Do not apply too much heat to your phone as mentioned above. You don't want to melt or burn your phone. ************** The geek's view: Hacking Democracy With election season here, and just passing, it was interesting that HBO decided to run a documentary about electronic voting and its flaws. The movie is an hour and a half long and follows a woman who is an advocate against electronic voting. The movie begins with the findings that a woman was able to download the source code of the Diebold voting machines and then see that it is not secure. The process for the machines allows for only the company manufacturing it, to know how it works. Auditing companies, government offices and the public are not allowed to know how the software works, due to it being a trade secret. As flaws in the software are found, the woman begins trying to get answers to how this could happen and to make sure elections are not rigged. Diebold is represented in this feature, being seen giving a presentation to a local government to get them to by their voting machines, along with footage of a California hearing about their alleged fraud. The experiences of the involved parties are very interesting, ranging from a Florida office illegally throwing out 1-week-old voting audit records, to Ohio recounts that look fishy, to the exact way the machine can be hacked and not show up on any audits. Hacking Democracy is on HBO. Check your TV Guide, TiVo listings or the link below for more information. http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/hackingdemocracy/index.html ************** Less