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>> Amber MacArthur: EXPERT ADVICE FOR MAKING YOUR SITE MORE INTERACTIVE, TODAY ON CALL FOR HELP. [Playing Theme Music]

>> Leo Laporte: COULD IT BE? YES IT IS. SOMETHING'S COMING, SOMETHING GOOD. IT'S CALL FOR HELP. HELLO, HOW ARE YOU? GOOD TO SEE YOU. THIS IS THE SHOW, THIS IS THE ONE YOU'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR, THAT EXPLAINS HOW TECHNOLOGY WORKS.

>> Leo Laporte: AND WE EXPLAIN IT IN PLAIN ENGLISH, SO YOU CAN UNDERSTAND IT, AND I THINK EVERY SINGLE SHOW YOU'RE GOING TO GET SOMETHING OF USE FOR YOURSELF, WHETHER IT'S A GREAT NEW FREE FILE TO DOWNLOAD, OR A WEBSITE TO USE, OR JUST A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW NETWORKING WORKS, OR HOW WIFI OR CELL PHONES WORK, HOW TO CHOOSE HOME THEATRE, ALL OF THAT. THAT'S WHAT WE COVER HERE ON THIS SHOW. AND OF COURSE, LET ME INTRODUCE TO YOU THE WOMAN THAT MAKES IT ALL POSSIBLE, BECAUSE SHE BRINGS CHOCOLATE EVERY DAY, AMBER MacARTHUR.

>> Amber MacArthur: HEY, LEO.

>> Leo Laporte: COULDN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOUR CHOCOLATE.

>> Amber MacArthur: YES, CHOCOLATE IS VERY IMPORTANT, DARK CHOCOLATE.

>> Leo Laporte: OH YES, BECAUSE IT'S HEALTHFUL.

>> Amber MacArthur: IT'S HEALTHY. WE DISCOVERED THIS RECENTLY.

>> Leo Laporte: YES, THAT'S WHAT WE TELL OURSELVES. WEB WORKSHOP TODAY.

>> Amber MacArthur: YES, DOING A WEB WORKSHOP. WENT TO DESIGN FEST IN TORONTO, WHICH IS A WEB DESIGN CONFERENCE, AND TALKED TO A DESIGN EXPERT THERE, AND REVIEWED A WEBSITE THAT'S ALL ABOUT DOING SURF REPORTS FROM THE BEACH IN FLORIDA.

>> Leo Laporte: OH, COOL.

>> Amber MacArthur: I KNOW.

>> Leo Laporte: ALL RIGHT, SO WE'RE GOING TO FIX UP A SURFING SITE.

>> Amber MacArthur: YES.

>> Leo Laporte: MM-HMM. MAYBE SWEEP OUT SOME OF THE SAND.

>> Amber MacArthur: VERY SMOOTH.

>> Leo Laporte: MIKE HOGUE IS HERE. HE'S OUR FLASH ANIMATOR, AND HE'S GOING TO TELL YOU HOW TO ANIMATE A REPEATING BACKGROUND IN FLASH. SO I GUESS THAT'S USEFUL. I DON'T KNOW WHAT A-- I'M SURE IT IS. WE'LL FIND OUT WHY YOU WOULD WANT TO DO THAT, AND HOW TO IN JUST A LITTLE BIT. AND THEN, SEAN CARUTHERS, OUR LAB RAT IS HERE, TO TALK ABOUT HOME NETWORK STORAGE. NOW THIS SEEMS LIKE SORT OF, WELL WHY WOULD YOU WANT SUCH A THING, BUT MORE AND MORE PEOPLE HAVE MULTIPLE COMPUTERS AND BIGGER DATABASES OF PICTURES, OF MUSIC, OF VIDEO, AND THEY NEED A KIND OF CENTRALISED PLACE TO STORE IT, OR EVEN JUST TO BACK UP TO. SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT STORAGE THAT IS ON YOUR NETWORK, THAT YOU CAN USE IN THE HOME TO KEEP TRACK OF ALL OF THAT STUFF. THAT SHOULD BE INTERESTING.

>> Amber MacArthur: YEAH, THAT SHOULD BE GREAT. I WAS THINKING, HE WAS DOING CORD CLUTTER OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

>> Leo Laporte: CORD CLUTTER, WE COULD ALSO HAVE ON.

>> Amber MacArthur: I KNOW.

>> Leo Laporte: YOU SHOULD SEE -- I WON'T SHOW IT, BUT WHAT'S BEHIND THAT DESK... I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH A TANGLE. IT'S FUNNY, WHEN YOU GO OVER TO UM... VISIT SERVER FARMS AND GEEKS AND SO FORTH, THERE'S TWO TYPES. THERE'S THE ONE TYPE THAT IS VERY PROUD TO OPEN THE DOOR, AND YOU SEE THESE TIDY NET WIRES EVERYWHERE, ALL TIED UP, AND THE OTHER TYPE WHO SAYS, OH YEAH, WE'RE STILL-- IT'S GOING TO BE FIXED UP ANY DAY NOW, AND YOU OPEN THE DOOR AND ALL THE WIRE FALLS OUT. I'M MORE THAT TYPE, AND I THINK WE'RE A LITTLE MORE THAT TYPE BEHIND THE DESK. OF COURSE WE HAVE TO STRIKE IT ALL THE TIME, SO IF YOU COULD LEAVE IT THERE, YOU'D PROBABLY HAVE IT ALL TIDY, WOULDN'T YOU? RIGHT.

>> Amber MacArthur: SURE.

>> Leo Laporte: LET'S GET OUR FIRST CALL OF THE DAY ON.

>> Amber MacArthur: ALL RIGHT, WE HAVE MICHAEL ON THE LINE FROM TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA.

>> Leo Laporte: HEY, MICHAEL!

>> Michael: HEY, LEO, HOW YOU DOING TODAY?

>> Leo Laporte: IT'S FLORIDA DAY ON THE SHOW TODAY, I'LL TELL YOU. A LITTLE TRAVELLING MUSIC. WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU?

>> Michael: WELL, LEO, I HAVE A START UP, IN WHICH I AM OFFERING ARCHIVING SOLUTIONS USING DIGITAL IMAGING.

>> Leo Laporte: OKAY.

>> Michael: AND I HAVE A SUBSCRIBER WHOSE SYSTEM ONLY UNDERSTANDS TIF FORMAT FILES, FOR IMAGES.

>> Leo Laporte: AH...

>> Michael: AND ALL MINE COME OUT EITHER JPEG OR RAW.

>> Leo Laporte: RIGHT.

>> Michael: SO HE'S USING A SCANNER TECHNOLOGY, GIVING ABOUT 100 KILOBYTES TOTAL SIZE, AND MINE, IN TIF, ARE ABOUT 800 KILOBYTES.

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH, THERE'S TWO KINDS OF TIFS, THERE'S COMPRESSED AND UNCOMPRESSED, BUT EVEN THE COMPRESSED TIFS ARE USING LOSSLESS COMPRESSION. TIF IS A HIGH QUALITY FORMAT. JPEG IS NOT. NOW JPEG MAY BE MORE THAN ADEQUATE FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING, IN FACT A LOT OF TIMES WE USE DIGITAL CAMERAS NOW, WE SHOOT JPEG, AND A LOT OF SCANNERS WILL SCAN TO JPEG, BECAUSE JPEG IS SO GOOD THAT IT'S OKAY THAT IT'S TAKING SOME OF DATA OUT. BUT IT'S A LOSSY FORMAT, JUST LIKE MP3. THE IDEA WOULD BE, WE WILL TAKE OUT STUFF THAT THE EYE CAN'T DETECT, OR WE'LL TAKE OUT STUFF THAT THE EAR CAN'T HEAR, AND NOBODY WILL NOTICE AND THE FILE SIZE WILL REALLY GET SMALL. TIF IS A LOSSLESS COMPRESSION. ACTUALLY, YOU CAN USE TIF WITHOUT ANY COMPRESSION, BUT IF YOU USE, IF YOU SAY A COMPRESSED TIF, IT'S NOT TAKING ANY DATA OUT. THE UNCOMPRESSED TIF IS IDENTICAL TO THE ORIGINAL BITMAP, THE ORIGINAL PICTURE. SO YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO GET THE SAME KIND OF COMPRESSION ON TIF THAT YOU WOULD WITH A JPEG. I MEAN THAT'S JUST THE WAY IT IS, MICHAEL. BUT YOU MAY GET MORE THAN WHAT YOU'RE GETTING.

>> Leo Laporte: I WOULD MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE USING A COMPRESSED TIF. DO YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE?

>> Michael: WELL I'M USING ARAYA CONVERTER, WHICH IS CONVERTING MY FILES.

>> Leo Laporte: OKAY.

>> Michael: BUT STILL, I HAVE 100 KILOBYTE JPEGS.

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH, THAT'S NORMAL.

>> Michael: AND AFTER CONVERSION, IT GOES UP TO 800 KILOBYTE TIFS.

>> Leo Laporte: THAT'S RIGHT, BECAUSE IT'S NOT COMPRESSING.

>> Michael: YEAH.

>> Leo Laporte: SO THAT'S NORMAL. I WOULD LOOK AND SEE-- AND THE OTHER ISSUE IS, OF COURSE, JPEG HAS ALREADY BEEN COMPRESSED, SO YOU KNOW, THERE'S REALLY NOT MUCH YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT. A BITMAP OF THAT JPEG MIGHT EVEN BE SMALLER THAN A TIF OF THAT JPEG, BUT IT'S JUST THE NATURE OF THE BEAST THAT THE JPEG IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE SMALLER THAN THE TIF. AND IRONICALLY, EVEN A CONVERTED TIF. NOW I WOULD LOOK AT THE CONVERTER YOU ARE USING AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE USING COMPRESSED TIF. THERE'S ALSO-- THE TIF COMES IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT FLAVOURS. IT-- YOU KNOW, YOU USUALLY THINK OF A FILE FORMAT AS BEING, YOU KNOW, WELL THIS IS WHAT IT IS.

>> Leo Laporte: TIF, THERE'S ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF TIFS, THERE'S PC TIFS, THERE'S MAC TIFS, THERE'S LZW COMPRESSED, THERE'S UNCOMPRESSED, I MEAN IT'S KIND OF A NUTTY FILE FORMAT, WHICH IS ONE OF THE REASONS YOU DON'T SEE IT MUCH ANY MORE. IT'S PROBABLY AN OLDER SCANNER THAT HE'S USING, AN OLDER SYSTEM THAT HE'S USING FOR THOSE TIFS.

>> Michael: ABSOLUTELY.

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH, MOST OF THE TIME, YOU DON'T SEE THAT-- YOU KNOW, THERE'S NOT MUCH YOU CAN DO. YOU SHOULD UH, IF YOUR SOFTWARE THAT YOU'RE USING IS NOT DOING A GOOD JOB OF COMPRESSING THE TIFS, YOU MIGHT WANT TO LOOK AND SEE IF THERE'S BETTER SOFTWARE. BUT I'M NOT SURPRISED, BECAUSE ESSENTIALLY IT'S AN UNCOMPRESSED FORMAT.

>> Michael: AND TIF WILL PRETTY MUCH ALWAYS BE LARGER THAN JPEG.

>> Leo Laporte: ALWAYS.

>> Michael: OF THE SAME IMAGE.

>> Leo Laporte: YEP, GUARANTEED, GUARANTEED.

>> Michael: THAT'S WHAT I WAS WORRIED ABOUT.

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH, SORRY, YOU SHOULD CHARGE THAT GUY TWICE.

>> Michael: OH, ABSOLUTELY.

>> Leo Laporte: DOUBLE THE STORAGE COST. WHAT'S THE NAME-- SO TELL ME ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS. THIS IS AN INTERESTING IDEA. YOU STORE IMAGES FOR PEOPLE?

>> Michael: WELL THEY ARE -- THE WAY IT COMES OUT IS, IT'S THE TITLE INDUSTRY, AND THEY NEED IMAGES OF THE ACTUAL TITLE ON DEEDS AND PROPERTY.

>> Leo Laporte: OF COURSE, RIGHT.

>> Michael: AND ANYTHING BEFORE 1985 IS IN NEED OF THIS ARCHIVING.

>> Leo Laporte: SO IT'S LIKE ARCHIVING LEGAL DOCUMENTS, BASICALLY

>> Michael: EXACTLY.

>> Leo Laporte: AND IN THIS CASE, THERE ARE SCANS.

>> Michael: AND THE CURRENT METHOD IS TO ACTUALLY CHOP UP THE BOOKS, AND RUN THEM THROUGH THESE GIANT SCANNERS.

>> Leo Laporte: WOW.

>> Michael: AND THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY ISN'T TOO HAPPY WITH THIS METHOD.

>> Leo Laporte: NO, NO. I'M NOT SURPRISED.

>> Michael: AND SO I FOUND A QUICKER EASIER METHOD JUST USING A DIGITAL CAMERA AND A SET OF WHEEL SYSTEM, SO I CAN ROLL THE CAMERA BACK AND FORTH.

>> Leo Laporte: SURE, SURE, YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT IDEA.

>> Michael: AND TAKE AN IMAGE OF EACH PAGE A LOT QUICKER. MY IMAGES LOOK 1,000 TIMES BETTER THAN WHAT THEY HAVE.

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH, YEAH.

>> Michael: I JUST CAN'T MATCH THE KILOBYTE SIZE IN THE JPEG FORMAT.

>> Leo Laporte: WELL THE KEY IS YOU'RE SHOOTING RAW, AND THEN I WOULD LOOK AT THE SOFTWARE YOU'RE USING TO CREATE THE SQUISHED VERSION OF IT, AND THERE IS SOME TIF COMPRESSION THAT'S BETTER THAN OTHERS, SO YOU MIGHT EVEN TRY DIFFERENT PACKAGES, BUT IT WILL NEVER BE AS SMALL AS A JPEG. ON THE OTHER HAND, IT WILL ALWAYS BE A BETTER IMAGE.

>> Michael: YES.

>> Leo Laporte: SO THERE'S YOUR TRADE OFF. ALL RIGHT, MICHAEL?

>> Michael: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, LEO, I APPRECIATE YOUR HELP.

>> Leo Laporte: I APPRECIATE YOUR CALL. ALL RIGHT, YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY.

>> Michael: YOU TOO.

>> Leo Laporte: IT'S A GOOD THING TO KEEP IN MIND, IF YOU ARE MAKING ARCHIVAL SCANS OF THINGS. YOU DON'T HAVE TO RUN IT THROUGH A SCANNER, YOU CAN TAKE A PICTURE OF IT. THAT'S ALL A SCANNER IS, IS A CAMERA WITH VERY SPECIFIC FLAT LIGHTING. BUT IF YOU HAVE THE LIGHTING RIGHT AND THE CAMERA'S RIGHT, AND THE ANGLES RIGHT, YOU CAN DO JUST AS GOOD, IF NOT A BETTER JOB WITH ONE OF THESE NEW HIGH MEGA-PIXEL CAMERAS.

>> Leo Laporte: COMING UP AFTER THE BREAK, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW THE PROS CREATE THOSE ENDLESS LOOPS FOR BACKGROUND SCENES, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE CHARACTER IS WALKING AND THE THING'S GOING, AND... DON'T DRAW OUT EVERYTHING OVER AND OVER AGAIN, NO, NO, NO. MIKE HOGUE, THE FLASH MASTER IS HERE TO SHOW YOU A SIMPLE TRICK THAT WILL SAVE YOU LOTS OF TIME, IN JUST A BIT, STAY RIGHT HERE. [Playing Theme Music]

>> Leo Laporte: WITH FLASH, YOU CAN ANIMATE A BACKGROUND MOVING BEHIND YOUR CHARACTER WHILE THEY WALK, MAKING IT APPEAR AS THOUGH THEY'RE ACTUALLY GETTING SOMEWHERE. IN FACT YOU CAN DO IT IN A CONSTANT LOOP, AND THEN THE CHARACTER CAN WALK FOREVER. [Laughing] THE-- YOU KNOW, NO REPEAT, ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE-- WELL YOU KNOW, THE TRICK IS MATCHING IT, SO YOU DON'T SEE THE REPEAT. HERE TO SHOW US HOW TO DO THIS, OUR OWN FLASH EXPERT, MIKE HOGUE, WHO, NO DOUBT, HAS DONE THIS MANY TIMES.

>> Mike Hogue: YES, I HAVE. IT'S ACTUALLY SOMETHING I USE ALL THE TIME FOR THINGS LIKE AD BANNERS, WHEN YOU WANT IT TO HAVE THAT LOOK AS THOUGH IT'S GOING ON FOREVER, AND THAT'S A PERFECT EXAMPLE, BECAUSE YOU WANT TO KEEP THE FILE SIZE SMALL, AND YOU DON'T WANT TO ANIMATE THIS LONG, LONG BACKGROUND GOING ON FOREVER, AND OBVIOUSLY YOU'D EVENTUALLY SEE IT STOP.

>> Leo Laporte: SO A CAR DRIVING DOWN A STREET, YOU WANT THE HOUSES OR THE BUILDINGS TO REPEAT.

>> Mike Hogue: IT'S ACTUALLY, IT'S BEEN DONE SINCE THE BEGINNING OF ANIMATION BUT IT'S BEST KNOWN IN SOMETHING LIKE THE FLINTSTONES CARTOON, WHEN FRED IS RUNNING THROUGH THE LIVING ROOM, YOU SEE THE SAME PIANO GOING BY OVER AND OVER AGAIN, AND THAT WAS A WAY OF SAVING MONEY ON THESE LONG BACKGROUNDS THAT HAD TO BE PAINTED AS WELL.

>> Leo Laporte: SURE, AND NOW I'M NEVER GOING TO WATCH THE FLINTSTONES WITH THE SAME FEELING AGAIN. SO SHOW US HOW WE WOULD DO THIS. NOW FLASH, OF COURSE, MAKES THIS MUCH EASIER, I'M SURE.

>> Mike Hogue: IT DOES, BECAUSE YOU CAN JUST MAKE A START AND A STOP POSITION FOR THE MOVEMENT OF IT, AND THEN YOU CAN TELL IT TO REPEAT AT A CERTAIN POINT. BUT THE IDEA IS TO HAVE A DUPLICATE OF THE VERY BEGINNING OF YOUR BACKGROUND SOMEWHERE AT THE END.

>> Leo Laporte: OTHERWISE YOU HAVE A JUMP CUT.

>> Mike Hogue: YOU CAN MAKE IT AS LONG AS YOU WANT, BUT AT SOME POINT IT HAS TO HAVE THE REPEAT IN THERE.

>> Leo Laporte: RIGHT.

>> Mike Hogue: SO WHAT I HAVE HERE ON SCREEN, THIS IS IN FLASH. I'VE BROKEN IT UP SO YOU CAN SORT OF SEE IT IN THIRDS.

>> Mike Hogue: BUT THIS FIRST AND SECOND PIECE ARE ALL ONE PART OF THE BACKGROUND, AND THEN THE FIRST IS... NOT MOVING -- THERE WE GO, IS DUPLICATING AT THE VERY END, SO IT--

>> Leo Laporte: AH, CLEVER.

>> Mike Hogue: NOW I BROKE THIS APART IN FLASH SO YOU COULD SEE HOW IT'S DONE.

>> Mike Hogue: BUT THIS IS SOMETHING, IF YOU WANT TO USE A PHOTOGRAPH, YOU'D HAVE TO DO IT IN PHOTOSHOP. RIGHT HERE, I HAVE IT IN ONE, AND IT'S A VERY OLD VERSION OF PHOTOSHOP, SO IT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU NEED ANY NEW SOFTWARE FOR. THIS ACTUALLY CAME WITH MY SCANNER YEARS AGO, SO-- BECAUSE ALL YOU REALLY NEED IS TO BE ABLE TO COPY THE BEGINNING PART, YOU JUST SELECT THE AREA YOU WANT TO DO, YOU GO UP TO EDIT, AND SELECT COPY, AND THEN YOU PASTE IT AT THE END. YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE YOUR DOCUMENT IS THE RIGHT SIZE TO FIT THE EXTRA.

>> Leo Laporte: BUT WON'T YOU HAVE A JUMP CUT SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE THERE?

>> Mike Hogue: YOU WILL, AND THAT'S WHERE YOU CAN USE SOMETHING LIKE THE CLONING STAMP. LET ME JUST DESELECT. OOPS, OH DARN IT. SO CLONING STAMP HERE, WHERE YOU JUST SELECT AN AREA PRESSING ALT, AND THEN YOU CAN YOU KNOW, BLEND IT IN A LITTLE BIT.

>> Leo Laporte: OVER TO THE RIGHT A LITTLE BIT THERE, YEAH. OH LOOK AT THAT.

>> Mike Hogue: JUST FILL IN THE GAP, RIGHT? SO YOU WON'T SEE THE TRANSITION. SO YOU'LL HAVE SOMETHING LIKE I HAVE IN THE FRAME BELOW HERE. SO I'LL GO BACK TO FLASH, AND YOU CAN IMPORT THAT IN, JUST LIKE YOU WOULD ANY OTHER PICTURE, BY GOING UP TO FILE AND THEN IMPORT, AND IT WILL DROP IT IN, AND IT'S A JPEG FOR THIS EXAMPLE. SO NOW IT'S BEEN MADE INTO A MOTION TWEEN JUST BE SELECTING THE ITEM GOING -- PRESSING F8, WHICH WILL TURN IT INTO A SYMBOL. WE TURN IT INTO MOTION TWEEN, WE'VE GONE THROUGH THOSE EXAMPLES BEFORE WITH PREVIOUS TUTORIALS.

>> Leo Laporte: SO IS THIS A KEY FRAME NOW, THIS?

>> Mike Hogue: IT'S READY TO ANIMATE, YES. BUT SITTING STILL.

>> Leo Laporte: I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS, BUT I THOUGHT I'D ASK AN INTELLIGENT QUESTION.

>> Mike Hogue: [Laughing] SO WHAT I HAVE HERE, I'M GOING TO MAKE IT DISAPPEAR, AND YOU'LL SEE, THIS IS ACTUALLY ALL THAT YOU'LL SEE IS THIS WHITE SQUARE THAT REPRESENTS YOUR WORK AREA, AND THAT'S SOMETHING YOU CAN CUSTOM SIZE FOR ANYTHING YOU WANT. BUT BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT THIS LONG BACKGROUND HERE -- I'M JUST GOING TO REMOVE THE UH-- AND THEN YOU'LL SEE THAT IT WILL REPEAT, BUT IF YOU ACTUALLY WERE TO FOCUS ON THE AREA OF THE CLOUDS, IT'S ACTUALLY KEEPING A CONSISTENT LOOP. NOW TO MAKE IT EASIER TO SEE AT HOME, I'M JUST GOING TO MASK IT OFF, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT IT WILL JUST APPEAR TO LOOP AND GO ON FOREVER.

>> Leo Laporte: AND NOBODY WILL EVER KNOW. YEAH, LOOK, NOW YOU CAN'T SEE THAT'S UH-- THERE'S NO JUMP, THERE'S NOTHING, IT'S JUST ALWAYS MOVING.

>> Mike Hogue: RIGHT. BECAUSE WHEN THIS FLASH FILE IS PUBLISHED, OR IF YOU CREATE AN ANIMATED GIF OUT OF IT, IT'S-- YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SEE ANYTHING OUTSIDE OF THAT WHITE WORK AREA THAT I SHOWED YOU.

>> Leo Laporte: RIGHT, SO IT'S REALLY JUST THREE IMAGES REPEATING OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

>> Mike Hogue: EXACTLY. SO, NOW I'LL BRING THIS UP FULL FRAME SO YOU CAN SEE IT A LITTLE BETTER, AND UH, THEN WE'LL JUST THROW IN A JET.

>> Leo Laporte: THERE YOU GO.

>> Mike Hogue: NOW THE TRUE GEEKS AT HOME, THE '80s CARTOON FANS WILL RECOGNISE THIS TOY JET, THIS IS JETFIRE FROM THE TRANSFORMERS.

>> Leo Laporte: [Laughing]

>> Mike Hogue: BUT UH--

>> Leo Laporte: SEAN CARUTHERS LEAPT TO HIS FEET, AND GO, OH MY GOSH.

>> Mike Hogue: AND SO I JUST--

>> Leo Laporte: AND LOOK AT THAT. I MEAN YOU REALLY CAN'T TELL, BUT THAT'S-- I TELL YOU, IN THOSE DAYS, THEY WOULD HAVE KILLED FOR THIS KIND OF CAPABILITY.

>> Mike Hogue: OH CERTAINLY.

>> Leo Laporte: YOU JUST DID IN YOU KNOW, A MINUTE, WHAT WOULD TAKE THEM DAYS TO DO.

>> Mike Hogue: RIGHT, BECAUSE UNDER TRADITIONAL ANIMATION CAMERAS, WHAT YOU'D ACTUALLY HAVE TO DO IS PLOT OUT, INCREMENT BY INCREMENT, WHERE THE BACKGROUND IS GOING TO BE, AND WHEN IT NEEDS TO LOOP BACK, AND THEN YOU HAVE TO HAVE IT REGISTERED ON ANIMATION PEGS THAT KEEP ALL THE DRAWINGS AND ANIMATION CELLS AND EVERYTHING LINED UP. I MEAN WHEN IT'S DONE RIGHT, IT LOOKS GREAT, BUT YOU KNOW, FOR THINGS LIKE INTERNET ANIMATIONS, AND AD BANNERS AND SO ON, THIS IS DEFINITELY A GOOD WAY TO DO IT.

>> Leo Laporte: VERY COOL.

>> Mike Hogue: SO WHAT I'VE-- THAT'S THE WAY TO DO IT WITH A JPEG IMAGE. IF YOU WANT IT, YOU HAVE A BACKGROUND OF YOUR HOUSE, LIKE YOU SAID, YOU CAN MAKE THE SAME PIANO GO BY. IN THIS CASE, THIS IS A BENNER I DID FOR A PROJECT I WORKED ON OVER THE SUMMER, AND UM...

>> Leo Laporte: THERE ACTUALLY ARE SOME INSANELY TWISTED SHADOW PUPPETS?

>> Mike Hogue: OH YEAH, IT'S A SERIES--

>> Leo Laporte: MICHEL GAGNE HAS THEM.

>> Mike Hogue: IT'S A SERIES PRODUCED BY MICHEL GAGNE, HE'S THE TOP SPECIAL EFFECTS ANIMATOR IN HOLLYWOOD, AS FAR AS HAND DRAWN ANIMATION.

>> Leo Laporte: NOW YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING INTERESTING HERE. THESE BUBBLES, AND THEN THEY'RE JUMPING BACK.

>> Mike Hogue: THEY'RE GOING TO POP, BUT IF YOU LOOK WITHIN THE BLACK SQUARE, THERE, OR BLACK RECTANGLE, IT STAYS CONSISTENT. AND IT IS SO EASY TO DO IT WHEN IT'S A FLASH BACKGROUND, AND I'LL GIVE YOU A LITTLE TRICK. RIGHT NOW I HAVE A FINAL POSITION, SO I'LL REMOVE THAT. AND SO NOW IT'S -- OBVIOUSLY IT'S NOT GOING TO MOVE. BUT IF YOU TAKE THE FIRST FRAME, COPY IT TO A LAYER RIGHT ABOVE, THEN YOU CAN POSITION THAT ONE WHERE YOU NEED IT TO BE.

>> Leo Laporte: AND THAT'S THE FINAL POSITION THERE.

>> Mike Hogue: RIGHT, SO THEN YOU JUST--

>> Leo Laporte: AND IT TWEENS BETWEEN THE TWO.

>> Mike Hogue: WHEN YOU PUT IT BACK IT WILL. RIGHT NOW I'M JUST LINING IT UP AND ZOOMING CLOSE.

>> Leo Laporte: AH, AND THIS IS HOW YOU AVOID THAT JUMP CUT AGAIN.

>> Mike Hogue: EXACTLY. NOW I'M USING THE OUTLINE IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO SEE THE ACTUAL EDGES. BUT ONCE IT'S DONE, I CAN LITERALLY DRAG THAT KEY FRAME DOT RIGHT BACK TO THE END, AND IT WILL BE SET TO GO REALLY -- WHOA--

>> Leo Laporte: SO TWEENS IN BETWEEN THE TWO, THE TWO POSITIONS, SO IT'S AUTOMATICALLY DOING THAT FOR YOU, YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING IN BETWEEN.

>> Mike Hogue: NOW WHAT IT MIGHT DO HERE, BECAUSE TECHNICALLY YOU HAVE THE VERY FIRST POSITION AND THE LAST POSITION IDENTICAL, EVEN THOUGH THE BACKGROUND IS THE SAME. WHAT I USUALLY DO IS DRAG THIS LITTLE KEY FRAME ONE MORE SPACE OVER, AND THEN DROP A NEW ONE DOWN AND GET RID OF THE OLD ONE, AND IT MAKES JUST THAT LITTLE BIT OF INCREMENT SO IT KEEPS A NICE SMOOTH TRANSITION.

>> Leo Laporte: SO IT'S STILL MOVING IN OTHER WORDS, THERE'S NO PAUSE -- WOULD THERE BE A PAUSE IF YOU HADN'T DONE THAT?

>> Mike Hogue: IT MIGHT APPEAR. AND SO WHAT I CAN DO NOW, AND THIS IS ACTUALLY AN ANIMATED GIF, SO I CAN PUBLISH A PREVIEW, SO YOU'LL SEE IT WILL GET RID OF ANY OF THE BACKGROUND YOU WOULDN'T HAVE SEEN OUTSIDE.

>> Leo Laporte: AND THIS IS THE BANNER THAT YOU WOULD PUT ON THE WEBSITE.

>> Mike Hogue: NOW THIS IS ACTUAL SIZE, IT'S NOT HUGE, BUT--

>> Leo Laporte: OH, THAT'S COOL.

>> Mike Hogue: AND THIS IS READY TO GO ON THE INTERNET NOW, AND THE FILE IS REALLY SMALL. BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF DETAIL WITH THE ANIMATED UFO, IT'S ABOUT 100K.

>> Leo Laporte: WOW, THAT'S AMAZING, BUT THE BACKGROUND WAS PRACTICALLY NOTHING.

>> Mike Hogue: YEAH, OH THAT WAS JUST A BUNCH OF CIRCLES, BASICALLY.

>> Leo Laporte: WOW, I LOVE THAT. WHAT A GREAT TECHNIQUE. MIKE IS A MASTER, AS YOU CAN SEE, OF FLASH, AND IT MAKES YOU WANT TO DO IT, DOESN'T IT?

>> Leo Laporte: I MEAN IT'S GIVING ME IDEAS FOR THINGS I CAN DO. IF YOU WANT TO SEE MORE EXAMPLES OF HIS WORK, HE'S PUT TOGETHER A SITE, sketchbook- animation.com.

>> Mike Hogue: THAT'S MY MAIN WEBSITE.

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH, AND DO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE NEW SITE?

>> Mike Hogue: SURE, SURE, IT WAS A SERIES OF 12 INTERSTITIALS I WORKED ON OVER THE SUMMER WITH MICHEL GAGNE. HE'S AN INCREDIBLY TALENTED ARTIST, BUT A REALLY UNIQUE STYLE, AND SO WE DID A WHOLE BUNCH OF FLASH ANIMATED SERIES--

>> Leo Laporte: LIKE THIS.

>> Mike Hogue: YEAH, AND THEY WERE SHOWN ON TV FOR A BRIEF PERIOD AT THE END OF OCTOBER, BUT NOW THEY'RE COMPLETELY AVAILABLE FOR ANYONE TO GO AND DOWNLOAD AND WATCH ALL OF THEM. DONE 100% IN FLASH. WE JUST HAVE THEM AS QUICK TIMES ON THE SITE, SO THEY'RE EASY TO--

>> Leo Laporte: IT WILL SHOW YOU WHAT YOU CAN DO.

>> Mike Hogue: YEAH, SO PEOPLE CAN DOWNLOAD AND WATCH THEM.

>> Leo Laporte: insanelytwisted.com.

>> Mike Hogue: CORRECT, YES.

>> Leo Laporte: IF YOU WANT THE DETAILS ON HOW TO DO THIS YOURSELF, OF COURSE, callforhelptv.com IS THE PLACE. THAT'S WHERE WE KEEP OUR SHOW NOTES.

>> Leo Laporte: NOW, ANIMATE YOUR BRAIN INTO PICKING THE CORRECT ANSWER FOR OUR NEXT TECH QUIZ QUESTION OF THE DAY. THIS IS A HARD ONE FOR ME TO PRONOUNCE. I COULD SUSTAIN A TONGUE INJURY HERE, SO WATCH, THIS COULD BE VERY EXCITING.

>> Leo Laporte: HA! SEE, THEY THOUGHT THEY WOULD TRIP ME UP WITH THAT. GET TO THE WEBSITE, GIVE US THE ANSWER. WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT -- WOOZLE- WUZZLE? ... WHEN CALL FOR HELP CONTINUES. [Playing Theme Music]

>> Amber MacArthur: WELCOME BACK TO CALL FOR HELP. TIME FOR OUR MAC TIP OF THE DAY. HERE'S HOW YOU ENABLE CLEVER SEARCHING IN APPLE'S MAIL. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS GO TO THE SEARCH WINDOW AND IF I WANT TO FIND E-MAILS THAT CONTAIN BOTH MICHAEL... AND LAZAZZERA, I CAN TYPE THAT, AND THEN FIND ANY E- MAIL THAT HAS BOTH THOSE NAMES IN IT. AND NOW WE HAVE ANOTHER CALLER.

>> Amber MacArthur: WE HAVE JOYCE ON THE LINE FROM FLORENCE, OREGON.

>> Leo Laporte: THAT IS ONE OF THE MOST USEFUL THINGS, I TELL YOU. E-MAILS BECOME MY DATABASE OF INFORMATION, AND AS LONG AS I CAN SEARCH IT, I CAN FIND ANYTHING I NEED.

>> Amber MacArthur: AND YOU CAN USE OR, AND YOU CAN USE NOT, AND YOU CAN USE OTHER TERMS.

>> Leo Laporte: IT'S REALLY NEAT.

>> Amber MacArthur: SO IT'S REALLY, REALLY HANDY.

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH. HEY, JOYCE, HOW ARE YOU?

>> Joyce: GREAT, THANKS.

>> Leo Laporte: WELCOME TO THE PROGRAM.

>> Joyce: THANK YOU.

>> Leo Laporte: WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU TODAY?

>> Joyce: WELL KIND OF A MINOR THING, I GUESS, BUT IT'S A BIG THING TO ME. I CAN'T USE MY SPELL CHECK WITH THE INTERNET SERVER I HAVE.

>> Leo Laporte: I HATE IT WHEN THAT HAPPENS.

>> Joyce: YEAH.

>> Leo Laporte: UM, WINDOWS?

>> Joyce: YEAH, IT'S UH, I'M WITH MICROSOFT.

>> Leo Laporte: OKAY, AND YOU'RE MSN, IS THAT WHAT YOU USE?

>> Joyce: UH-HUH.

>> Leo Laporte: AND UM... DO YOU HAVE SPELL CHECK IN WORD AND OTHER PROGRAMS?

>> Joyce: YES.

>> Leo Laporte: SO IT IS WORKING THERE, IT JUST ISN'T WORKING IN MSN.

>> Joyce: RIGHT, WHEN I TRY TO USE IT, IT SAYS YOU NEED TO INSTALL SPELL CHECKER AVAILABLE WITH INSTALLATIONS OF MICROSOFT OFFICE AND WORKS.

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH, SO YOU HAVE OFFICE?

>> Joyce: NO I DON'T.

>> Leo Laporte: OH, YOU DON'T HAVE WORD.

>> Joyce: I HAVE WORD, BUT EVIDENTLY THE WRONG VERSION, I GUESS. I DON'T KNOW, WHAT REALLY UPSETS ME IS THAT, WHY IS THAT MY PROBLEM IF I HAVE THE WRONG--

>> Leo Laporte: OH, WELL HERE'S THE ISSUE. THAT BASICALLY MICROSOFT DOESN'T INCLUDE SPELL CHECKING WITH WINDOWS. AND WHAT THEY'VE DONE IS, THEY'VE MADE IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE SPELL CHECKING IF YOU INSTALL WORD WITH ITS SPELL CHECKING DICTIONARIES AND SOFTWARE. SO THAT'S THE ISSUE, IS THAT THIS IS JUST THE WAY MICROSOFT IS. ON THE MACINTOSH, SPELL CHECKING IS BUILT IN. IT'S PART OF THE SYSTEM, BUT IT IS NOT PART OF WINDOWS, YOU DO NOT GET SPELL CHECKING WITH WINDOWS. YOU GET SPELL CHECKING WHEN YOU BUY WORD.

>> Leo Laporte: NOW ARE YOU TALKING MSN MESSENGER, OR MSN THE ONLINE SERVICE, LIKE SYMPATICO.

>> Joyce: THE ONLINE SERVICE MY E-MAIL.

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH, YEAH, OKAY. I THINK THAT PROBABLY YOU JUST NEED TO REINSTALL WORD.

>> Leo Laporte: IT SOUNDS LIKE IT HASN'T NOTICED THAT WORD IS THERE, OR THE DICTIONARY IS THERE. OR MAYBE WHEN YOU INSTALLED WORD, THE DICTIONARIES WEREN'T INSTALLED OR THAT SORT OF THING.

>> Joyce: IT CAME WITH MY LAPTOP. I BOUGHT A LAPTOP IN 2003.

>> Leo Laporte: IT CAME... IT CAME ALL THIS WAY, OKAY. SO YOU DON'T HAVE A WORD INSTALL DISC THEN.

>> Joyce: NOT AS SEPARATE FROM WHAT THE PACKAGE WAS ON THE COMPUTER.

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH. I'M WONDERING IF THE COMPANY THAT DID IT, DIDN'T INSTALL THE APPROPRIATE DICTIONARIES AND STUFF, I MEAN, YOU COULD GO OUT-- I'LL SHOW YOU A PROGRAM THAT WILL DO IT FOR YOU.

>> Leo Laporte: YOU CAN GO OUT AND BUY A PROGRAM CALLED SPELL CATCHER, WHICH WILL RUN IN THE BACKGROUND, IT WILL CATCH ALL YOUR SPELLING ERRORS. BASICALLY IT RUNS SYSTEM WIDE SPELL CHECK, NOT JUST TO MSN, BUT TO EVERYTHING.

>> Joyce: OH.

>> Leo Laporte: ... WHICH I THINK IS NICE, IT'S NOT EXPENSIVE, I THINK IT'S $30. YOU CAN TRY IT THOUGH. WHAT I SUGGEST IS DOWNLOADING IT AND TRYING IT FREE.

>> Leo Laporte: I THINK IT'S A 15 DAY TRIAL. AND THEN IT'S $40 IF YOU WANT TO PURCHASE IT.

>> Joyce: OH, OKAY.

>> Leo Laporte: SO THAT'S AT spellcatcher.com. NOW I USE THIS ON THE MAC, IT'S A VERY NICE SPELL CHECKER. IT'S LESS NECESSARY ON THE MAC, BECAUSE FRANKLY THE MAC HAS BUILT IN SPELL CHECKING, AND IT'S REALLY HANDY.

>> Leo Laporte: I MEAN I'M A GOOD SPELLER, BUT EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, YOU KNOW, YOU'LL WRITE FINALLY WITH ONE L, AND IT WILL GO, OH! AND YOU KNOW, IT'S FUNNY, JOYCE, MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING OUR GENERATION CARES MORE ABOUT, BECAUSE MY KIDS, SPELLING IS COMPLETELY YOU KNOW, FUNGIBLE. ANY WAY YOU CAN SPELL IT, IF IT JUST LOOKS LIKE IT SOUNDS, THAT'S OKAY. YOU KNOW, THE LETTER "U", THE NUMBER "4", THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT SPELLING AND THEY EVEN HAVE SPELL CHECK BUILT IN. I'LL TELL MY DAUGHTER, "WELL DON'T YOU WANT TO LEARN HOW TO SPELL?" SHE SAYS, "NO, I'VE GOT SPELL CHECKING." SO SPELL CHECKING CAN BE A BAD CRUTCH FOR OUR KIDS, BUT AT LEAST FOR US, IT'S SOMETHING WE NEED.

>> Joyce: RIGHT.

>> Leo Laporte: SO IF YOU CAN'T REINSTALL WORD, WORD SHOULD DO IT. IF YOU CAN'T REINSTALL IT -- IT SOUNDS LIKE WHEN THEY BUILT IT, THEY DIDN'T PUT IN ALL THE DICTIONARIES OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

>> Joyce: WHEN I'VE USED OTHER SERVERS, I'VE HAD SPELL CHECK.

>> Leo Laporte: OH, INTERESTING.

>> Joyce: CAN I SAY A NAME, OR--

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH.

>> Joyce: AOL.

>> Leo Laporte: SO THAT MAY BE THAT AOL HAS BUILT IN SPELL CHECKING, THAT'S ALL. MICROSOFT WANTS TO USE MICROSOFT'S SPELL CHECK.

>> Joyce: I SEE.

>> Leo Laporte: ISN'T THAT NICE? ISN'T THAT SPECIAL? SO YOU KNOW, IF YOU CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO SIGNAL IT -- HEY, I'VE GOT WORD HERE, I GOT IT. THAT'S ALL YOU NEED IS WORD, NOT WORKS, NOT OFFICE, WORD. THE REASON THAT WORKS WORKS IS THAT WORKS COMES WITH WORD. SO IT JUST SOUNDS LIKE THE WAY THEY INSTALLED IT, THEY JUST MISSED SOMETHING CRITICAL.

>> Joyce: OKAY.

>> Leo Laporte: ANYWAY, SPELL CATCHER-- IN A WAY, SPELL CATCHER'S BETTER, BECAUSE IT'S EVERYWHERE. EVERYTHING YOU DO HAS NOT GOT SPELL CHECKING.

>> Joyce: OKAY.

>> Leo Laporte: ALL RIGHT?

>> Joyce: WELL THANKS A BUNCH, LEO.

>> Leo Laporte: THANK YOU, JOYCE. I'M SORRY I COULDN'T GIVE YOU A QUICK FIX, BUT THAT'S -- AT LEAST THAT'S A WAY AROUND IT.

>> Joyce: I'M JUST SO GLAD YOU'RE BACK ON THE AIR, SO I CAN -- I LOVE IT

>> Leo Laporte: YOU'VE GOT SOMEBODY TO ASK. THANK YOU FOR WATCHING.

>> Joyce: THANK YOU, BYE-BYE.

>> Leo Laporte: TAKE CARE.

>> Leo Laporte: DO YOU WANT TO RIDE THE WAVE OF PUTTING YOUR VIDEO ON YOUR WEBSITE? EVERYBODY'S DOING IT NOW. EVERYBODY'S GOT A VIDEO OF SOME KIND OR OTHER THEY'VE GOT ON THEIR WEBSITE. IN JUST A BIT, WE'RE GOING TO SHOW YOU HOW WE CAN TAKE A SURF SITE AND MAKE IT, WELL, JUST SPECTACULAR. COMING UP, AMBER MacARTHUR AND TODAY'S WEB WORKSHOP. SURF'S UP, DUDE.

>> Leo Laporte: ONE OF OUR DEDICATED FANS STARTED A SITE TO SHOW OFF THE LATEST AND GREATEST SURF REPORTS. HE'S IN FLORIDA, I THINK.

>> Amber MacArthur: YES HE IS.

>> Leo Laporte: BUT WE THINK HE CAN DO AN EVEN BETTER JOB. AT LEAST HE ASKED FOR HELP, SO AMBER'S HERE, OUR WEB WORKSHOP.

>> Amber MacArthur: YES.

>> Leo Laporte: AND THIS IS SURF-- WHAT'S IT CALLED?

>> Amber MacArthur: IT'S CALLED WAVZ.US, W-A-V-ZED, OR ZEE, U.S.

>> Leo Laporte: I LIKE THE NAME A LOT.

>> Amber MacArthur: I KNOW, IT'S A GOOD NAME. SO I WENT TO DESIGN FEST IN TORONTO, WHICH IS A WEB DESIGN CONFERENCE, AND INTERVIEWED HUGH ELLIOT, WHO IS A WEB DESIGN EXPERT, ABOUT THE SITE, WHICH WORKED OUT KIND OF WELL, BECAUSE HUGH HAS LIVED IN CALIFORNIA FOR A WHILE.

>> Leo Laporte: AND HE GETS IT.

>> Amber MacArthur: HE'S KIND OF GOT-- HE'S GOT A LITTLE SURF VIBE TO HIM, AS YOU'LL SEE IN THE INTERVIEW. HE'S VERY LAID BACK, BUT HE HAD SOME GOOD TIPS.

>> Leo Laporte: SO YOU LET HUGH DO YOUR DIRTY WORK, DID YOU?

>> Amber MacArthur: I DID.

>> Leo Laporte: ALL RIGHT, WELL LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT HUGH AND HIS REVIEW OF wavz.us.

>> Amber MacArthur: TO START OUT WITH, WE'LL TALK ABOUT VISUAL DESIGN OF THE SITE AND WHAT YOU THOUGHT INITIALLY WHEN YOU WENT TO THE SITE.

>> Hugh Elliot: YEAH, WELL, LOOKING AT THE SITE, I MEAN THE FIRST THING I SEE IS A PREPONDERANCE OF BLUE.

>> Amber MacArthur: IT IS VERY BLUE.

>> Hugh Elliot: I KIND OF THINK HE COULD BREAK IT UP A LITTLE, EVEN IF IT'S VARIOUS TONES OF THE BLUE IT'S FINE, IT'S JUST VERY OVERWHELMING WHEN YOU FIRST SEE IT.

>> Hugh Elliot: UM, OTHER THAN THAT, I MEAN I KIND OF THINK, AGAIN, THE FIRST IMPACT IS, YOU SEE THIS WAVE IMAGE, WITH A LITTLE LOGO.

>> Hugh Elliot: AND I'M ALL ABOUT CLEAN, BUT THE LOGO WAS LOST IN THE WAVE IMAGE.

>> Amber MacArthur: IN THE WAVE, SO IT'S ALMOST LIKE-- I THINK PEOPLE DO THIS A LOT WITH WEBSITES, WHERE THEY HAVE A THEME, AND THEY WANT THE THEME TO BE BIGGER THAN THE ACTUAL BRAND OF THE WEBSITE, AND MAYBE HE SHOULD THINK ABOUT THE WEBSITE AS HIS OWN BRAND IN SOME WAYS.

>> Hugh Elliot: WELL IT IS. I MEAN, HE'S-- I THINK HE'S STARTING-- HE'S PART OF THAT TREND TO BECOMING AN ONLINE REPORTER, AN ONLINE JOURNALIST, AND I THINK THAT IT'S FASCINATING AND IT'S A GREAT TREND THAT'S HAPPENING NOW. AND HE'S CREATED A-- YOU KNOW, HE HAS AN AUDIO BLOG, YOU KNOW, IT'S FANTASTIC. HE'S ADOPTED GREAT TECHNOLOGY. HE HASN'T TRIED TO LEARN IT ON HIS OWN, HE'S JUST ADOPTING IT. I THINK THAT'S GREAT WORK, YOU KNOW.

>> Amber MacArthur: SO BASICALLY BECAUSE HE'S USING A SERVICE CALLED AUDIOBLOG, WHERE, WHAT HE'S DOING, HE'S DOING AUDIO SURF REPORTS, SO HE'S GOING DOWN, HE'S RECORDING SURF REPORTS MAYBE AT HIS HOUSE, WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, AFTER HE'S VISITED THE BEACH, AND HE'S PUTTING THEM ONLINE.

>> Hugh Elliot: YEAH.

>> Amber MacArthur: SO IT'S REALLY AWESOME TECHNOLOGY. I ACTUALLY USE IT AS WELL. AND IT'S REALLY, REALLY SIMPLE FOR SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO HAVE A LITTLE FLASH PLAYER ON THEIR SITE.

>> Hugh Elliot: YEAH, YEAH, AND I MEAN, IT'S INEXPENSIVE. I WENT AND LOOKED AT THE SITE. I-- I DON'T NEED IT, BUT WERE I TO START DOING SOME MANNER OF REPORTING, I MEAN IT'S--

>> Amber MacArthur: IT'S A REAL GOOD PLACE TO START.

>> Hugh Elliot: I THINK IT'S INVALUABLE, ESPECIALLY FOR SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO. AND IT SOUNDED TO ME LIKE HE JUST PHONES IT IN.

>> Amber MacArthur: YEAH, YOU CAN JUST PHONE IT IN ON AUDIO BLOG. YOU CAN ACTUALLY -- YOU GET A SPECIAL PHONE NUMBER, AND YOU CAN PICK UP YOUR CELL PHONE.

>> Hugh Elliot: OH, THAT'S GREAT.

>> Amber MacArthur: SO HE COULD ACTUALLY BE DOWN ON THE BEACH IN MIAMI AND CALLING IN SURF REPORTS FROM HIS PHONE, THAT POST--

>> Hugh Elliot: YEAH, HOLY CRAP, THE BREAK IS, BLAH-BLAH- BLAH, YOU KNOW, IT'S 18 FEET WAVES -- RUN! YOU KNOW, THAT SORT OF THING.

>> Amber MacArthur: RUN! AND HE CAN POST IMMEDIATELY TO HIS BLOG, SO IT'S A GOOD WAY TO ADD AUDIO OBVIOUSLY TO HIS BLOG.

>> Hugh Elliot: YEAH.

>> Amber MacArthur: IN TERMS OF, I KNOW YOU HAD THREE TIPS. ONE OF THEM WAS OBVIOUSLY THE LOGO AND THEN WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT AUDIO BLOG.

>> Hugh Elliot: THE COLOURS, AND...

>> Amber MacArthur: THE COLOURS, BUT I ALSO WANTED TO MENTION ABOUT THE CONTENT ON THE SITE, AND MAYBE HE COULD SIMPLIFY IT A LITTLE BIT?

>> Hugh Elliot: YEAH, WELL I MEAN I KNOW IT'S A BLOG, AND I UNDERSTAND YOU POST, IT'S VERY LINEAR, AND THAT'S FINE, WE UNDERSTAND THAT. EVERYBODY SEEMS TO BE GETTING THAT. LIKE, THAT'S THE WAY BLOGS WORK. BUT HE HAS A LOT OF CONTENT JUST SORT OF SUBSIDIARY TO THE ACTUAL CONTENT, AND THAT'S VERY DISTRACTING. HE HAS A LOT OF LOGOS ALL OVER THE SITE, WHERE IT BECOMES KIND OF DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S ABOUT HIS REPORTING. AND HE HAS A CHAT OUT THAT I REALLY COULDN'T FATHOM, BECAUSE IT WASN'T A REAL TIME CHAT THING. BECAUSE HE'S RUNNING AROUND DOING SURF REPORTS, WHICH IS GREAT.

>> Amber MacArthur: YEAH.

>> Hugh Elliot: OH, THE OTHER THING THAT I NOTICED THAT I THOUGHT WAS MAYBE COULD HAVE BEEN IMPROVED, IS AFTER HE DOES HIS AUDIO BLOG, HE COULD COME HOME AND UPDATE THE TEXT ASPECT OF IT.

>> Amber MacArthur: SO ADD MORE TEXT, MAYBE, TO EACH POST.

>> Hugh Elliot: YEAH, I MEAN, I GUESS THAT THE CONCEPT IS THAT IT'S-- THIS IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW, BUT WHEN YOU'RE REFERRING BACK TO IT, IT MIGHT BE NICE JUST TO SEE A LITTLE SYNOPSIS OF WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT, SO THAT YOU KNEW, WELL I WANT TO HEAR THIS ONE BECAUSE IT TALKS ABOUT SOMETHING I'M INTERESTED IN, YOU KNOW?

>> Amber MacArthur: CERTAIN THINGS.

>> Hugh Elliot: BUT YOU KNOW, AS OPPOSED OT LOADING A 1.2 MEG SOUND FILE SORT OF THING.

>> Amber MacArthur: SO JUST TO WRAP IT UP IN TERMS OF THINGS THAT JASON COULD DO TO MAKE THE SITE BETTER, IT SEEMS AS THOUGH IF HE KIND OF BRANDED THE SITE A LITTLE BIT MORE, AND HAD IT, JASON'S SURF REPORTS STRAIGHT FROM THE BEACH FROM MY CELL PHONE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

>> Hugh Elliot: YEAH.

>> Amber MacArthur: AND THE IDEA WAS, HE STUCK MAINLY TO THAT CONTENT VIA AUDIO BLOG, WHERE HE JUST HAD HIS SURF REPORTS, REALLY FOCUSSED ON THAT STUFF AND PROVIDING SORT OF GOOD AUDIO TO THE END USER, AND CLEANED UP THE VISUAL DESIGN A BIT AS WELL.

>> Hugh Elliot: YEAH, I MEAN, IT'S NOT HARD. IF THE LINKS HE HAS, THE VARIOUS LOGOS THAT HE HAS ON THE SITE ARE ACTUAL SPONSORS, IT'S NOT HARD TO CREATE A SPONSORS SECTION. AND I THINK THAT THAT WOULD REALLY CLEAN IT ALL UP. BECAUSE THE MOMENT YOU START SCROLLING DOWN, YOU SEE LOGO, LOGO, LOGO, LOGO. I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S A SERVICE HE'S USING, OR IF IT'S AN ACTUAL SPONSOR, WHICH, I MEAN, GOOD ON HIM IF HE'S GOT SEVERAL SPONSORS, BUT IT TENDS TO DETRACT FROM THE ACTUAL CONTENT, AND THAT'S WHAT YOU DON'T WANT TO DO WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT A SITE.

>> Amber MacArthur: SO HE SHOULD FOCUS MORE ON THE CONTENT OF THE SITE, AND PUSH THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE.

>> Hugh Elliot: YEAH, IT'S -- I THINK IT'S GREAT THAT HE'S ADAPTED SO MANY THINGS. OR, SORRY, "ADAPTED" -- ADOPTED SO MANY THINGS, BUT IT'S WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE BEING USED EFFECTIVELY, IS THE REAL POINT. AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN HE POSTS SOMETHING, THAT IT'S RELEVANT, THAT PEOPLE CAN READ IT, THAT PEOPLE KNOW WHAT IT'S ABOUT RIGHT AWAY.

>> Amber MacArthur: AND THEY CAN LISTEN TO ALL THAT AWESOME CONTENT.

>> Hugh Elliot: YEAH.

>> Amber MacArthur: SO IF PEOPLE WANT TO GET MORE TIPS FROM YOU, OR E-MAIL YOU, OR CONTACT YOU, I KNOW YOU HAVE A WEBSITE AS WELL...

>> Hugh Elliot: THAT'S RIGHT.

>> Amber MacArthur: [Laughing] SO THEY COULD GO THERE AND CHECK IT OUT. YOU PUT DESIGN TIPS UP THERE AS WELL?

>> Hugh Elliot: YEAH, WELL I HAVE-- I ACTUALLY HAVE TWO BLOGS OF MY OWN, SO I HAVE JUST BLOGGED, THAT, WHENIWAS19.COM IS A PERSONAL BLOG, AND THEN I HAVE A STUDIO BLOG WHERE I DO FLASH DEVELOPMENT TIPS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

>> Amber MacArthur: OH COOL, AND WHAT'S THE STUDIO BLOG?

>> Hugh Elliot: studio.wheniwas19.com\blog. [Laughing]

>> Amber MacArthur: OKAY, WE'LL PUT A LINK TO THAT IN THE SHOW NOTES. THANKS A LOT, HUGH, AND HOPEFULLY WE HELPED JASON OUT A LITTLE BIT.

>> Hugh Elliot: OH, I HOPE SO, YEAH.

>> Amber MacArthur: THANKS.

>> Leo Laporte: INTERESTING DESIGN. THIS GUY'S GOT A REALLY INTERESTING STYLE, AND SENSE, YEAH.

>> Amber MacArthur: HE'S A REAL SORT OF SURF STYLE. THAT'S WHY I THINK IT WAS APPROPRIATE--

>> Leo Laporte: A GOOD MATCH.

>> Amber MacArthur: YEAH, A GOOD MATCH FOR HIM, TOO.

>> Leo Laporte: AND HE DOES DO BLOGS, SO HE UNDERSTANDS BLOGS.

>> Amber MacArthur: HE HAS TWO BLOGS, studio.wheniwas19.com, IS A REALLY COOL BLOG. IT KIND OF SHOWCASED MORE OF HUGH'S DESIGN THAN ANYTHING, BUT HE HAD SOME GREAT TIPS FOR JASON WHO RUNS THE SITE, THE wavz.us, SO--

>> Leo Laporte: TELL ME ABOUT THIS AUDIOBLOG. YOU USE THIS, TOO?

>> Amber MacArthur: YES, I USE AUDIOBLOG. WE USE IT TO UPLOAD OUR VIDEO AND POST IT ONLINE IN A FLASH PLAYER, SO PEOPLE CAN WATCH IT ON THE SITE WITHOUT HAVING TO DOWNLOAD ANYTHING.

>> Leo Laporte: SO IT'S AUDIO AND VIDEO.

>> Amber MacArthur: YEAH, IT'S AUDIO AND VIDEO. SO WITH THE AUDIO, LIKE WE SAID IN THE INTERVIEW, YOU CAN PICK UP A PHONE, YOU GET A SPECIAL PHONE NUMBER, CALL IT IN, YOU CAN POST AUTOMATICALLY TO YOUR BLOG.

>> Leo Laporte: AND IT EMBEDS IT IN YOUR BLOG? I MEAN YOU DON'T GO TO audioblog.com, IT ACTUALLY PUTS IT IN YOUR BLOG.

>> Amber MacArthur: IT ACTUALLY PUTS IT IN YOUR BLOG IN A TINY LITTLE FLASH PLAYER, SO YOU CAN AUTOMATICALLY HAVE AUDIO ON YOUR BLOG ANYWHERE ON THE GO, AND YOU CAN DO THE SAME THING WITH VIDEO. YOU GO THERE AND YOU DROP YOUR VIDEO INTO THE AUDIOBLOG CLIENT, AND THEN IT OUTPUTS HTML THAT YOU POST ONTO YOUR BLOG, SO PEOPLE CAN GO AND THEY CAN WATCH YOUR VIDEO AND THEN YOU DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH BANDWIDTH ISSUES, WITH PEOPLE HITTING, YOU KNOW, DIRECT DOWNLOADS.

>> Leo Laporte: OH, THEY SIMPLY HOST IT.

>> Amber MacArthur: YES.

>> Leo Laporte: IT'S ERIC RICE, WE'VE HAD HIM ON THE SHOW. IT'S NEAT, YEAH, I SAW ERIC AT THE PODCAST EXPO.

>> Amber MacArthur: OH COOL.

>> Leo Laporte: HE SAID TO SAY HI, YEAH.

>> Amber MacArthur: OH COOL.

>> Leo Laporte: IT'S A GOOD BUSINESS, I THINK, IT'S A VERY SMART IDEA. IF YOU WANT AMBER TO REVIEW YOUR WEBSITE, E-MAIL HER, AMBER...

>> Amber MacArthur: amber@callforhelptv.com

>> Leo Laporte: OKAY, LET'S SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE CONTROL ROOM TODAY. I THINK MAYBE WE GOTTA GET THESE GUYS COFFEE OR SOMETHING. [Indistinct Conversations]

>> Man: 6, 5 TO BLACK, 4-3-2-1

>> Amber MacArthur: WELCOME BACK TO CALL FOR HELP. TIME FOR OUR FIREFOX TIP OF THE DAY. HERE'S HOW YOU CAN GET MORE EXTENSION IN FIREFOX. GO TO THE TOOLS MENU, CLICK ON EXTENSIONS. IT WILL SHOW WHAT EXTENSIONS YOU ALREADY HAVE DOWNLOADED, AND THEN CLICK ON, GET MORE EXTENSIONS, TO GO TO THE MOZILLA SITE AND FIND OTHER EXTENSIONS THAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO USE. AND NOW WE HAVE ANOTHER CALLER. WE HAVE HUNTER ON THE LINE FROM CALGARY, ALBERTA.

>> Leo Laporte: HELLO, HUNTER.

>> Hunter: HI, LEO.

>> Leo Laporte: HOW ARE YOU?

>> Hunter: I'M GREAT.

>> Leo Laporte: WELL WELCOME TO THE SHOW.

>> Hunter: YES, I'M HAVING A PROBLEM WITH, WHAT'S IT CALLED, WINDOWS 2000 PROFESSIONAL.

>> Leo Laporte: YOU RUN WINDOWS 2000 PROFESSIONAL?

>> Hunter: YES.

>> Leo Laporte: WOW, HUNTER, YOU'RE PRETTY SOPHISTICATED. HOW OLD ARE YOU, HUNTER?

>> Hunter: I AM 11 YEARS OLD.

>> Leo Laporte: OH, THAT'S HOW OLD MY SON IS.

>> Hunter: [Laughing]

>> Leo Laporte: I DON'T THINK MY SON KNOWS WHAT WINDOWS 2000 PROFESSIONAL IS.

>> Hunter: CAN I SAY HI TO UM MIKEY, AMBER.

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH. SAY HI TO HUNTER.

>> Amber MacArthur: HI THERE. HI, HUNTER.

>> Leo Laporte: THEY USED TO BE 11, TOO, YOU KNOW.

>> Amber MacArthur: A WHILE AGO.

>> Leo Laporte: I THINK MIKEY STILL IS, ACTUALLY. SO WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM WITH WINDOWS 2000 PROFESSIONAL?

>> Hunter: HELLO?

>> Leo Laporte: HELLO!

>> Hunter: OH YES, I JUST GOT DISCONNECTED.

>> Leo Laporte: OH, WE'RE STILL HERE. WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM WITH WINDOWS 2000 PROFESSIONAL?

>> Hunter: UH, YOU'VE SEEN THAT POP-UP MESSENGER SERVICE?

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH.

>> Hunter: I KEEP GETTING THAT, AND I'M GETTING SICK OF IT.

>> Leo Laporte: OH, YOU'RE GETTING SPAMMED!

>> Leo Laporte: AND I BET IT SAYS THINGS LIKE, AND THIS IS MY FAVOURITE ONE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO STOP THESE POP UP MESSENGERS? [

>> Leo Laporte: GIVE US $30, WE'LL SHOW YOU HOW! THOSE ARE REALLY ANNOYING, AND YOU KNOW WHAT, IT'S AN EASY THING TO FIX, HUNTER.

>> Hunter: WHAT IS IT? WHAT DO YOU DO?

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH, BOY, THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS YOU CAN DO. IF YOU'RE USING WINDOWS XP, I KNOW YOU'RE NOT, BUT I JUST WANT TO TELL EVERYBODY, IF YOU'RE USING WINDOWS XP, TURNING ON THE WINDOWS FIREWALL WILL STOP THIS.

>> Hunter: YES.

>> Leo Laporte: IF YOU HAD A ROUTER, DO YOU HAVE A ROUTER?

>> Hunter: NO.

>> Leo Laporte: ARE YOU ON HIGH SPEED INTERNET?

>> Hunter: NO, ON DSL WITH TELUS.

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH, YOU KNOW WHAT I WOULD RECOMMEND? GET MUM AND DAD, AND TELL THEM LEO SAID WE'LL BE MUCH MORE SECURE IF WE PUT A ROUTER ON THAT DSL MODEM. SO YOU'VE GOT THE DSL MODEM, ROUTER, THEN YOU, IT WILL INSTANTLY STOP THAT MESSENGER SPAM, BECAUSE IT CAN'T GET THROUGH THE ROUTER.

>> Hunter: IS THERE ANY PROGRAMS?

>> Leo Laporte: YOU DON'T NEED A PROGRAM. ONE MORE THING YOU CAN DO THAT'S ABSOLUTELY FREE, IS DISABLE THE MESSENGER SERVICE. YOU DON'T NEED THE MESSENGER SERVICE. IT'S SOMETHING THAT IS FOR BIG COMPUTER NETWORKS, SO THE SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR CAN SEND MESSAGE TO EVERYBODY ON THE NETWORK SAYING, WE'RE ABOUT TO SHUT DOWN, OR QUICK, GET OUT OF THE BUILDING, THAT SORT OF THING. BUT YOU DON'T NEED THAT, YOU'RE NOT ON A BIG CORPORATE NETWORK.

>> Hunter: NO.

>> Leo Laporte: AND MICROSOFT, YOU KNOW, IT MAKES ME MAD. MICROSOFT, YOU KNOW, KEVIN ROSE DISCOVERED THIS A FEW YEARS AGO. WE CONTACTED MICROSOFT, AND THEY SAID, NO, WHY WOULD WE TURN THAT OFF? BECAUSE, HERE'S THE PROBLEM. IT ISN'T JUST SOMEBODY ON YOUR NETWORK, ANYBODY WITH YOUR INTERNET ADDRESS CAN SEND A MESSAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER. SO THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING. THERE ARE SPAMMERS OUT THERE WHO HAVE FIGURED THIS OUT. THEY DON'T JUST SEND IT TO YOUR ADDRESS, THEY SEND IT TO MILLIONS OF ADDRESSES. AND ARE THEY TRYING TO GET YOU TO BUY SOMETHING, HUNTER?

>> Hunter: THEY KEEP SAYING, GO ON TO FIXREG.NET OR SOMETHING.

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH, YEAH, THEY'RE TRYING TO GET YOU TO BUY SOME JUNKY SOFTWARE. WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T CLICK THOSE LINKS.

>> Hunter: I WON'T.

>> Leo Laporte: HERE'S WHAT YOU DO. YOU GO TO SERVICES, AND THIS IS IN THE COMPUTER MANAGEMENT PART OF YOUR SYSTEM.

>> Hunter: YES?

>> Leo Laporte: YOU GO TO SERVICES, AND THE SERVICE YOU WANT TO DISABLE IS CALLED THE MESSENGER SERVICE, OKAY?

>> Hunter: OKAY.

>> Leo Laporte: SO YOU'RE GOING TO SCROLL DOWN. YOU SEE WE HAVE IT IN HERE, BUT WE'VE DISABLED IT. YOU SCROLL DOWN, AND IT WILL SAY MESSENGER IN YOUR SERVICES. DOUBLE CLICK THAT, AND WHERE IT SAYS STARTUP TYPE, YOU'RE CURRENTLY SAYING AUTOMATIC. THAT MEANS IT'S TURNING ON WHEN YOU BOOT. YOU WANT IT TO SAY, DISABLED. THAT TURNS THE SERVICE OFF. BUT I STILL WANT YOU TO TELL MUM AND DAD THAT THEY SHOULD GET A ROUTER, OKAY, BECAUSE YOUR SYSTEM WILL BE MUCH SAFER WITH A ROUTER, BETWEEN YOU AND THE OUTSIDE WORLD, ALL RIGHT?

>> Hunter: OKAY. YEAH, YOU SEE, MY COMPUTER TEACHER, MR. [Inaudible] AT ST. JEAN BREBOEUF SAYS STEVE GIBSON HAS A PATCH FOR THAT.

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH, THERE IS, IT'S CALLED SHOOT THE MESSENGER.

>> Hunter: SHOOT THE MESSENGER?

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH, THAT'S ANOTHER WAY YOU CAN DO IT, IF YOU GO TO GRC.COM. I FORGOT ABOUT SHOOT THE MESSENGER. YOU DON'T REALLY NEED SHOOT THE MESSENGER, BECAUSE IT'S EASY TO TURN IT OFF. ALL SHOOT THE MESSENGER DOES, IS THE SAME THING I JUST TOLD YOU HOW TO DO. BUT IT'S ABSOLUTELY FREE, YOU GO TO GRC.COM, YOU CLICK THE SHIELDS UP, AND YOU SCROLL DOWN. HE'S GOT A LOT OF DIFFERENT PROGRAMS ON HERE THAT HE WRITES, AND HERE'S THE ONE, SHOOT THE MESSENGER. IT JUST SHUTS DOWN-- ALL IT DOES IS TURNS OFF THE WINDOWS MESSENGER. IN FACT, THAT I WAS JUST TELLING YOU HOW TO DO.

>> Hunter: OKAY.

>> Leo Laporte: YOUR COMPUTER TEACHER IS A SMART MAN.

>> Hunter: YES.

>> Leo Laporte: WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR COMPUTER?

>> Hunter: WELL, I'M TRYING TO GET INTO VISUAL BASIC AND SEQUEL SERVER.

>> Leo Laporte: [Laughing] WELL YOU KNOW, I THINK EVERY 11 YEAR OLD SHOULD BE CONVERSANT IN SEQUEL SERVER, AND YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GOING TO BE GETTING A JOB IN ABOUT TWO YEARS, AND I THINK YOU SHOULD COME AND WORK FOR US, WHAT DO YOU SAY, HUNTER.

>> Hunter: [Laughing] YEAH.

>> Leo Laporte: HEY, YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY A VERY SMART BOY.

>> Hunter: MM-HMM.

>> Leo Laporte: YOU'RE A COMPUTER WIZ, I CAN TELL, AREN'T YOU? KIND OF A WIZ AT COMPUTERS, A LITTLE BIT, JUST A LITTLE BIT. HE DOESN'T WANT TO BOAST, I CAN TELL.

>> Hunter: YES, AND MY FRIEND ERIC KEEPS GETTING IT, TOO.

>> Leo Laporte: OH YES, TELL ERIC THE SAME THING, TOO. GO TO GRC.COM. SHOOT THE MESSENGER, OR JUST DISABLE WINDOWS MESSENGER.

>> Hunter: OKAY.

>> Leo Laporte: IT'S CALLED MESSENGER SERVICE. IT'S IN THE SERVICES, ALL RIGHT?

>> Hunter: OKAY.

>> Leo Laporte: HAVE A GOOD ONE, HUNTER.

>> Hunter: THANK YOU.

>> Leo Laporte: GREAT TO TALK TO YOU. OH, CAN YOU SEND ME AN AUTOGRAPH?

>> Leo Laporte: OH YEAH, HANG ON, WE'LL GET YOUR ADDRESS, WE'LL SEND YOU ONE OUT, OKAY?

>> Hunter: OKAY.

>> Leo Laporte: OKAY, THANKS, HUNTER.

>> Hunter: BYE.

>> Leo Laporte: SEE YOU LATER. MY SON'S AGE.

>> Amber MacArthur: THAT IS SO CUTE.

>> Leo Laporte: IF I TOLD MY SON, I WANT YOU TO LEARN VISUAL BASIC AND SEQUEL SERVER, HE'D SOCK ME. FUNNY THING ABOUT THE INTERNET IS YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE LOYAL TO ANY ONE SITE. YOU KNOW, YOU CAN USE GOOGLE UNTIL THERE IS SOMETHING BETTER, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO STAY THERE, YOU JUST JUMP AROUND ALL OVER THE PLACE. NO ONE'S GOING TO KNOW, NO ONE WILL GET MAD AT YOU. USE GOOGLE ONE DAY, YAHOO THE NEXT, BIG DEAL. WELL TODAY ON THE FREE FILE OF THE DAY, AMBER IS GOING TO SHOW US A LITTLE TRICK THAT LETS YOU USE BOTH GOOGLE AND YAHOO.

>> Amber MacArthur: AT THE SAME TIME, FOR SEARCHING.

>> Leo Laporte: OH, SO YOU'RE CHEATING ON GOOGLE, ARE YOU?

>> Amber MacArthur: YEAH, I'M CHEATING ON GOOGLE A LITTLE BIT.

>> Leo Laporte: DOUBLE TIMING.

>> Amber MacArthur: DOUBLE TIMING. SO THIS IS A REALLY SIMPLE FIREFOX EXTENSION, AND FOR ANYONE WHO DOESN'T KNOW, AN EXTENSION IS JUST A DOWNLOAD THAT WORKS WITH FIREFOX, WORKS WITH THE BROWSER.

>> Amber MacArthur: IT'S CALLED AGGREGATE YAHOO AND GOOGLE, IT'S COMPLETELY FREE, AND WE'LL SHOW YOU HOW IT WORKS, IT'S PRETTY SIMPLE. SO WE'LL GO TO GOOGLE.COM...

>> Amber MacArthur: AND WE'LL GO IN AND WE'LL DO, LET'S SAY SURF REPORTS, JUST TO STAY ON THE SURF THEME. AND WE'LL CLICK RETURN. AND YOU'LL NOTICE HERE THAT IT HAS ONE ENTRY FROM YAHOO, THE NEXT ONE FROM YAHOO, ONE FROM GOOGLE, ONE FROM YAHOO.

>> Leo Laporte: THAT WAS JUST TRANSPARENT. IT KNOWS YOU'RE ON GOOGLE AND IT JUST DOES IT.

>> Amber MacArthur: EXACTLY, SO YOU JUST SCROLL DOWN THE PAGE, AND YOU CAN SEE IF YOU ZOOM OUT A LITTLE BIT, YOU CAN SEE THE ONES THAT ARE POWERED BY YAHOO SEARCH. SO YOU CAN JUST GET A COMBINATION OF BOTH.

>> Leo Laporte: IT KIND OF HIGHLIGHTS THEM A LITTLE BIT.

>> Amber MacArthur: IT KIND OF HIGHLIGHTS THEM A LITTLE BIT. IT'S HARD TO SEE ON THE SCREEN. BUT THEN, IF YOU DECIDE YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THE YAHOO RESULTS, YOU CAN GO TO THE TOP LEFT HAND SIDE OF THE PAGE, AND YOU CAN CLICK ON HIDE YAHOO RESULTS, OR YOU CAN SHOW YAHOO RESULTS.

>> Leo Laporte: LOOK AT THAT.

>> Amber MacArthur: SO IT'S KIND OF SEAMLESS, IT'S KIND OF TRANSPARENT, SO YOU CAN JUST, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, YOU CAN JUST CLICK THAT, AND ALL YOU HAVE ARE THE GOOGLE RESULTS, AND THEN CLICK IT AGAIN, AND YOU HAVE BOTH GOOGLE AND YAHOO RESULTS.

>> Leo Laporte: SO IF GOOGLE COMES IN THE ROOM, AND YOU DON'T WANT GOOGLE TO KNOW YOU'VE BEEN CHEATING ON IT, YOU JUST--

>> Amber MacArthur: YOU'RE HAVING AN AFFAIR, IN JUST ONE SECOND, YOU CAN CLICK THE BUTTON, AND THEN IT'S GONE.

>> Leo Laporte: [Laughing] VERY CLEVER.

>> Amber MacArthur: IT'S VERY CLEVER. SO JUST A NEAT TOOL IF PEOPLE CAN'T DECIDE WHAT THEY WANT TO USE, GOOGLE OR YAHOO.

>> Leo Laporte: YOU KNOW, IT'S INTERESTING. I'M GETTING THE DEFINITE IMPRESSION THAT YAHOO IS CREEPING UP ON GOOGLE A LITTLE BIT.

>> Amber MacArthur: IT IS.

>> Leo Laporte: AND MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO USE YAHOO AGAIN.

>> Amber MacArthur: YAHOO SEARCH IS PRETTY POPULAR THESE DAYS.

>> Leo Laporte: INTERESTING.

>> Amber MacArthur: I KNOW. I KNOW A FEW PEOPLE WHO USE YAHOO SEARCH QUITE A BIT.

>> Leo Laporte: THAT'S GOING TO SCARE GOOGLE A LITTLE BIT.

>> Amber MacArthur: IT MUST, BECAUSE REALLY THAT'S THEIR BREAD AND BUTTER.

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH. WELL, I THINK MAYBE PART OF IT IS BECAUSE GOOGLE GOT SO COMMERCIAL, PEOPLE SAID, WELL, IF YOU'RE GOING TO GO TO SOMEONE THAT'S THAT COMMERCIAL, YOU MIGHT AS WELL GO TO YAHOO.

>> Amber MacArthur: MIGHT AS WELL GO TO YAHOO.

>> Leo Laporte: WHOEVER DOES THE BEST, RIGHT? THAT'S ALL WE NEED.

>> Amber MacArthur: EXACTLY. SO IT'S A GREAT FREE FILE, IT'S HANDY.

>> Leo Laporte: NOW YOU CAN SEE, DO THEY COMPARE PRETTY CLOSE?

>> Amber MacArthur: YEAH, THEY'RE PRETTY CLOSE, IT'S PRETTY CLOSE.

>> Leo Laporte: HAVE THEY GOT THE SAME THING THERE?

>> Amber MacArthur: IT'S KIND OF FUN TO PLAY AROUND WITH.

>> Leo Laporte: INTERESTING. TYPE LEO LAPORTE IN THERE, I WANT TO SEE.

>> Leo Laporte: COMING UP, DO YOU WANT TO SHARE YOUR FILES WITHOUT LEAVING YOUR COMPUTER ON ALL THE TIME? THE CALL FOR HELP LAB TAKES A LOOK AT A NEW NETWORK HARD DRIVE SOLUTION THAT LETS YOU BACK UP, USE A SINGLE DRIVE FOR THE WHOLE HOUSE, ALL YOUR PHOTOS, ALL SORTS OF COOL USES, BUT BEFORE WE TAKE OFF, LET US REMIND YOU OF OUR NEXT TECH QUIZ QUESTION OF THE DAY.

>> Leo Laporte: GO TO THE WEBSITE, GIVE US THE ANSWER. WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT WHEN CALL FOR HELP CONTINUES. [Playing Theme Music]

>> Leo Laporte: I LIKE THIS ONE, THIS IS A GOOD ONE.

>> Sean Caruthers: IT IS. IT BASICALLY MEANS, YOUR STONE IS IN DANGER, NOT QUITE LIKE CHAT.

>> Leo Laporte: WHY WOULD HE NAME HIS COMPANY, YOUR STONE IS IN DANGER? NO ONE KNOWS. HOPE YOU GOT THAT ONE RIGHT. SO IN THE BUSINESS WORLD, IT'S VERY COMMON TO HAVE SOMETHING CALLED NAS NETWORK ATTACHED STORAGE. THESE ARE DRIVES, THEY DON'T HAVE COMPUTERS, THEY JUST HOOK UP TO THE ETHERNET, AND THEY ARE AVAILABLE ON THE NETWORK SO MULTIPLE USERS CAN HAVE SHARE SPACE ON THEM. IT'S GOOD FOR BACKUPS, IT'S GOOD FOR SHARED DATA. WITH A GROWING NUMBER OF PERSONAL NETWORKS AT HOME, I GUESS IT'S NO SURPRISE THEY'RE STARTING TO MAKE THEIR WAY INTO OUR HOME AS WELL. SO NOW YOU CAN BUY NETWORK ATTACHED STORAGE, AND HERE ARE SOME GOOD SOLUTIONS FOR YOU THAT SEAN TESTED OUT IN THE LAB.

>> Sean Caruthers: IT'S A NATURAL. YOU CAN SEE WITH ALL THESE STORAGE SOLUTIONS HERE, WE GOT A TON OF CABLES HERE RIGHT NOW. YOU MENTIONED THE CABLE FARM EARLIER, WE'VE GOT--

>> Leo Laporte: THIS IS WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT, UNDERNEATH THE TABLE. YOU DON'T SEE IT, BUT THIS IS WHAT I'M STANDING ON RIGHT NOW.

>> Sean Caruthers: IT'S PROBABLY A FIRE HAZARD, BUT YOU KNOW, WE'LL CLEAN THIS UP BY FRIDAY, SO NO ONE NEEDS TO WRITE IN.

>> Leo Laporte: I'M GLAD I WORE MY FIRE SHOES.

>> Sean Caruthers: ALL RIGHT, SO UM...

>> Leo Laporte: SO WE'VE GOT MAXTORE, LA CIE...

>> Sean Caruthers: AND WE'VE GOT ONE FROM ADS TECH.

>> Leo Laporte: AND ADS TECH.

>> Sean Caruthers: IF YOU WANT TO ROLL YOUR OWN. SO WE'LL START WITH THE MAXTORE. THIS ONE HERE IS AVAILABLE IN EITHER 200 OR 300--

>> Leo Laporte: IT'S PRETTY.

>> Sean Caruthers: 200 OR 300 GIGABYTES.

>> Leo Laporte: WOW.

>> Sean Caruthers: IT'S CALLED A SHARED STORAGE DRIVE.

>> Leo Laporte: THEY'RE JUST HUGE.

>> Sean Caruthers: AND YOU CAN ACTUALLY PLUG IN EXTERNAL DRIVES, TOO, TO ADD TO THE STORAGE.

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH, I NOTICE THIS HAS USB, AND ETHERNET.

>> Sean Caruthers: ETHERNET, YEAH.

>> Leo Laporte: SO YOU COULD JUST HOOK UP MORE DRIVES, YOU COULD DAISY CHAIN THEM I GUESS, OR--

>> Sean Caruthers: SO THE BEAUTY OF THESE IS, MOST OF THEM JUST HAVE AN ETHERNET PORT ON THE BACK. THAT'S ALL YOU REALLY NEED. YOU JUST PLUG IT IN TO YOUR NETWORK. SO MOST HOMES NOW HAVE A ROUTER, WITH ADDITIONAL PORTS FOR SHARING YOU KNOW, DATA AND YOUR CONNECTION--

>> Leo Laporte: AND THIS WOULD SHOW UP AS LIKE A SHARED DRIVE, LIKE A WINDOWS TYPE OF SHARED DRIVE?

>> Sean Caruthers: RIGHT, NOW TYPICALLY, YOU CAN FIND MOST OF THESE DRIVES, IF YOU KNOW AN IP ADDRESS, BY MAPPING A NETWORK DRIVE FROM ANY WINDOW ON YOUR COMPUTER, ANY EXPLORER WINDOW.

>> Leo Laporte: RIGHT.

>> Sean Caruthers: MOST OF THESE COMPANIES HAVE COME UP WITH TOOLS THAT WILL HELP YOU FIND THAT IP ADDRESS, AND SOME, LIKE THE MAXTORE -- I REALLY LIKE THE MAXTORE, BECAUSE IT COMES WITH A CLIENT THAT WILL ACTUALLY SET ALL OF YOUR FOLDERS UP FOR YOU AS WELL.

>> Leo Laporte: OH THAT'S NEAT.

>> Sean Caruthers: AND I'LL SHOW YOU THAT. WE'VE GOT THE SHARED STORAGE DRIVE PAGE UP HERE, BUT TO GET TO THAT POINT IN THE FIRST PLACE, YOU JUST RUN A LITTLE CLIENT--

>> Leo Laporte: SO THAT PAGE WAS COMING FROM THE DRIVE?

>> Sean Caruthers: THAT WAS COMING FROM THE DRIVE. SO THIS CLIENT THAT WE'RE SHOWING RIGHT HERE, IS ACTUALLY LOCATING ALL DRIVES, SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY HAVE MORE THAN ONE ON THE SYSTEM. AND RIGHT NOW WE SEE THIS ONE IS LOCATED AT 192 168 1.137.

>> Leo Laporte: THAT'S ITS IP ADDRESS.

>> Sean Caruthers: RIGHT, AND YOU CAN MAP TO THAT, OR IF YOU PREFER, JUST TO AUTOMATE THIS ALTOGETHER, THEN YOU CAN JUST HIT NEXT, AND YOU CAN SET UP SHARED STORAGE ON THIS COMPUTER, AND IT WILL ACTUALLY GIVE YOU LINKS ON YOUR DESKTOP NOW THAT WILL MAP DIRECTLY TO THAT DRIVE.

>> Leo Laporte: SO YOU JUST DOUBLE CLICK THAT ICON, AND THERE'S THE DRIVE.

>> Sean Caruthers: RIGHT.

>> Leo Laporte: OH, THAT'S SO EASY.

>> Sean Caruthers: AND WE'VE DONE THIS BEFORE ALREADY.

>> Leo Laporte: I THINK THAT'S A GOOD IDEA.

>> Sean Caruthers: WE'VE DONE THAT ALREADY, AND WE'VE GOT ALL THESE FOLDERS HERE. IT AUTOMATICALLY SETS ALL THESE UP FOR EACH OF THE USERS. YOU CAN SET UP MULTIPLE USERS ON A MAXTOR STORAGE, SO MY BACKUP, LIBRARY, MUSIC, PHOTOS, SO IF YOU WANT TO SHARE YOUR MP3 COLLECTION AMONG ALL THE COMPUTERS IN YOUR HOUSE--

>> Leo Laporte: WHAT A GOOD IDEA.

>> Sean Caruthers: IT'S VERY EASY TO DO. NOW WE NOTICED ONE LITTLE BUG ON THIS ONE THAT WE HAVE. IT DOESN'T GIVE YOU ACCESS TO THE PUBLIC. YOU CAN LOOK AT IT, BUT YOU CAN'T WRITE TO IT ON THIS VERSION THAT WE HAVE.

>> Leo Laporte: THAT'S KIND OF THE OPPOSITE OF HOW IT NORMALLY IS.

>> Sean Caruthers: RIGHT, AND IF YOU'VE GOT A PUBLIC FOLDER THAT YOU CAN'T WRITE TO, IT'S KIND OF USELESS.

>> Leo Laporte: WHAT'S THE POINT?

>> Sean Caruthers: YOU CAN GET AROUND IT BY CREATING ANOTHER FOLDER, ANOTHER USER, AND JUST MAKING IT PUBLIC TO EVERYONE. AND THEY ARE WORKING ON IT, SO, THEY'RE CREATING A PATCH FOR THIS.

>> Leo Laporte: THEY KNOW ABOUT IT, OKAY.

>> Sean Caruthers: SO THAT'S THE MAXTOR, IT SETS IT ALL UP.

>> Leo Laporte: HOW MUCH IS THIS, FOR 260 TO 300.

>> Sean Caruthers: THAT ONE'S ABOUT $300 TO $400.

>> Leo Laporte: SO IT'S ROUGHLY A BUCK A GIG FOR THESE DEVICES. MAYBE A LITTLE BIT MORE.

>> Sean Caruthers: YOU'RE PAYING A LITTLE BIT EXTRA FOR THAT.

>> Leo Laporte: SO IT'S MORE, BUT REALLY YOU'RE GETTING-- IT'S A LITTLE COMPUTER IN HERE, THAT'S WHY.

>> Sean Caruthers: EXACTLY.

>> Leo Laporte: SO THIS THE LA CIE. I'VE ALWAYS LIKED LA CIE'S DESIGNS.

>> Sean Caruthers: THE LA CIE, IT'S A GREAT LITTLE CASE.

>> Leo Laporte: SOLID METAL.

>> Sean Caruthers: THAT ONE COMES IN HUGE, HUGE CAPACITIES, UP TO 500, I BELIEVE.

>> Leo Laporte: A HALF A TERABYTE.

>> Sean Caruthers: THIS IS CALLED THE ETHERNET DISK MINI. AND THAT WILL PROBABLY COME IN A TERABYTE SOONER OR LATER, TOO.

>> Leo Laporte: NOW THIS ONLY HAS A USB-- NO, IT DOESN'T HAVE USB, IT ONLY HAS ETHERNET AND A USB.

>> Sean Caruthers: THE USB ON THIS ONE IS ACTUALLY SO YOU CAN CONNECT IT TO A COMPUTER RIGHT NEXT TO YOU.

>> Leo Laporte: SO IF YOU WANTED TO SET IT UP AND COPY FILES OVER TO BEGIN WITH, OR...

>> Sean Caruthers: YEAH, IT'S QUICKER TO DO THAT THAN IT IS TO DO IT OVER THE NETWORK A LOT OF THE TIMES. AND IF YOU HAVE YOUR OWN HARD DRIVE ALREADY, SAY YOU ALREADY HAVE A HIGH CAPACITY ONE, AND YOU WANT TO MAKE YOUR OWN, THEN THE ADS TECH ONE IS THE WAY TO GO.

>> Leo Laporte: THIS IS JUST A CASE, REALLY.

>> Sean Caruthers: THAT IS JUST A CASE, AND IT COMES WITH A COOLING FAN ON THE BACK, YOU PLUG YOUR OWN IDE HARD DRIVE INTO THAT. THAT ONE WILL BE ABOUT $129.

>> Leo Laporte: HOW MUCH WAS THE LAST ONE?

>> Sean Caruthers: THE LA CIE WAS ACTUALLY 230 FOR THE LOW END ONE, AND THEY START REALLY LOW, LIKE 808 GIGABYTES, I BELIEVE, AND IT GOES ALL THE WAY UP TO 500, AND THAT'S $599.

>> Leo Laporte: SO THEY'RE A LITTLE PRICIER FOR THIS.

>> Sean Caruthers: YEAH, THEY'RE PRETTY PRICY.

>> Leo Laporte: BUT BARE DRIVES ARE PRETTY CHEAP, AND SO BUYING A BARE DRIVE AND PUTTING IT IN THIS CASE MIGHT NOT BE A BAD WAY TO DO IT. NOW DOES THIS COME WITH THE SOFTWARE, THAT FANCY SUPEY SOFTWARE LIKE MAXTORE?

>> Sean Caruthers: NOT FANCY SOFTWARE. IT'S A LITTLE MORE ROLL YOUR OWN ALL AROUND.

>> Sean Caruthers: IT WILL TELL YOU WHAT THE IP ADDRESS IS, AND YOU CAN MAP THE LINKS TO IT. I DON'T THINK IT'S AS FULLY FUNCTIONAL.

>> Leo Laporte: YOU DON'T LIKE THE MAXTORE BEST FOR THE SOFTWARE.

>> Sean Caruthers: I LIKE TEASPOON MAXTORE BEST ALL AROUND, DESPITE THE LITTLE GLITCH IT HAS WITH THE PUBLIC DRIVE.

>> Leo Laporte: AND THE LA CIE ALSO HAS SOFTWARE COMPARABLE?

>> Sean Caruthers: IT DOES, YES.

>> Leo Laporte: OKAY. VERY GOOD, I THINK THIS IS REALLY, YOU KNOW-- EVERY TIME I SEE ONE OF THESE, I SAY, I'VE GOT TO GET ONE OF THESE FOR BACKUP IF NOTHING ELSE. ONE DRIVE YOU CAN BACK UP ALL THE COMPUTERS ON YOUR NETWORK. AND BY THE WAY, MAC OR PC, IT DOESN'T MATTER, THESE ARE SHARED DRIVES, THEY LOOK THE SAME.

>> Sean Caruthers: OR EVEN LINUX, YEAH.

>> Leo Laporte: SEAN CARUTHERS IS ONE OF THE CALL FOR HELP LAB GUYS, PRETTY MUCH THE LAB GUY, AND ALSO COHOST OF THE LAB RATS PODCAST WITH ANDY WALKER, WHICH YOU CAN WATCH AT LABRATSTV. SEND HIM QUESTIONS FOR FUTURE HARDWARE, OR SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE HARDWARE TESTS, TO sean@callforhelptv.com FINAL WORDS RIGHT AFTER THIS. STAY RIGHT HERE. [Playing Theme Music]

>> Leo Laporte: ONE OTHER THING THAT SEAN WANTED ME TO MENTION WAS NOISE. AND THAT'S SOMETHING YOU'VE GOT TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN YOU'RE PUTTING SOMETHING LIKE THAT, DRIVES IN YOUR HOUSE, YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR ADDITIONAL NOISE. OF COURSE YOU CAN PUT THEM ANYWHERE THAT A NETWORK CABLE CAN GO, SO YOU CAN PUT THEM IN A CLOSET, BUT HE DID SAY THAT THE DO IT YOURSELF ADS TECH IS PRETTY LOUD.

>> Amber MacArthur: PRETTY LOUD, OH YEAH?

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH, AND IT SOUNDED LOUD, TOO.

>> Amber MacArthur: OH WOW.

>> Leo Laporte: YOU CAN HEAR IT GO R-R-R... AND THAT'S PROBABLY WHY THOSE BIG HEAVY METAL CASES FROM LA CIE AND THE MAXTOR, THEY'RE PROBABLY PRETTY HEAVILY SOUND BAFFLED TO KEEP THEM A LITTLE BIT QUIETER, BECAUSE THE DRIVES ARE NOISY.

>> Amber MacArthur: NOISY, YEAH, THEY'RE REALLY NOISY.

>> Leo Laporte: YEAH.

>> Amber MacArthur: KIND OF PUTS YOU TO SLEEP.

>> Leo Laporte: THAT'S ONE REASON I LIKE LAPTOPS IS THEY'RE MUCH QUIETER THAN THE DESKTOPS.

>> Amber MacArthur: THEY ARE, THEY'RE REALLY QUIET. YOU CAN JUST SET IT ON YOUR BED, AND...

>> Leo Laporte: SHH... IF YOU WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW, DON'T BE QUIET, GO TO THE WEBSITE AND CLICK THE LINK ON THE LEFT, THAT SAYS, ASK A QUESTION, AND FILL OUT THAT FORM WITH ALL THE DETAILS SO WE CAN GET BACK TO YOU. REMEMBER, IF YOU'VE GOT A PROBLEM WITH YOUR PERSONAL CONFUSER...

>> Amber MacArthur: DON'T WHINE...

>> Leo Laporte: DON'T MOAN...

>> Amber MacArthur: DON'T YELL!

>> Both: JUST CALL FOR HELP!

>> Leo Laporte: WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME, BYE-BYE.

>> Announcer: AMBER MacARTHUR'S HAIR SERVICES PROVIDED BY...