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Computer and Technology August 16, 2007 |
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By Jack Bevis (Branch 116), CTG Secretary/Web Correspondent |
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"Why iPods are So Popular - It's More Than the Music" By Phil Goff, (Branch 116) Phil reviewed many of the uses and applications of iPods that make them so popular. They excel at downloading, storing and playing all manner of things, music, pictures, videos - both your own and commercial movies, notes and text, audio books and Podcasts. They can be used as a hard drive to store any type of computer file. The functionality of iPods is far greater than one might think. Even if you don't own or plan to buy an iPod, you will want to understand why they have become so popular and are facilitating new forms of communication. It was very apparent that Phil is enthusiastic about this little device and especially its Podcast features. Once you download the free iTunes software from apple.com all manner of material to record as Podcasts is available. The world of Podcasts includes programs from National Public Radio, Lectures and Speeches given in University, Government, and unlimited other audio recordings. His 30 slide presentation that is available at our website covered the iPod in detail: including the three different models (the iPod, the Nano and the Shuffle), the 7 different sizes (from 1GB to 80GB) and the corresponding prices (from $100 to $330). (The Nano and Shuffle are flash memory products with less capability then the iPod) The world of Podcasts is exploding on the Internet. There is probably a Podcast for almost any topic you wish. You don’t even need an iPod to enjoy all of this. They are simply MP3 files, which will play on your computer or a CD. Q and A Session by Dick Curry *Dick said that it would be of general interest if any one has experience with digitizing 8mm film. Please let him know. *He commented further to Phil’s presentation that Podcasts are a great source of lectures and other entertainment to enjoy while traveling. *A questioner wanted to know where to find the “old radio programs” that were referred to earlier. You down load them from Apple iTunes. *A questioner purchased a new computer with the XP operating system and tried to use Microsoft software to transfer programs to the new machine. After the meeting Dick supplied the following additional response to the question. *Regarding the question relating to file transfer with an XP operating system, I think I had suggested that he should "Google" the problem (say, "transferring files and programs with XP"). Microsoft Vista has a new file (and program) transfer application; however, I could not recall what it was called at the meeting (it is called Windows Easy Transfer program). That program you have to download from Microsoft's website. But you can still transfer files to a Windows XP system using Windows file and settings transfer wizard, which comes loaded with the XP system. There are other excellent commercial file transfer programs on the market. I checked on Microsoft's website at: a few minutes ago. It seems to have everything one needs to know relative to XP file and settings transfer program.” *It is still possible to buy a new computer with XP (Dell) but MS is trying to sell Vista *There are 2 ways to run both XP and Vista. Either create a hidden partition on one machine or use a separate hard drive for each. *There were several questions and comments about Zone Alarm: It works on multiple computers. The newer versions are becoming more difficult to teach.” Removed the Suite because of problems.” *Dick once again recommended TUT (The Ultimate Troubleshooter) for slow booting questions. The program is now sold on an annual subscription basis. *There is a 2nd area of startup problems, namely those programs that check with “mother” for updates when you startup. It is safer to allow this for the important programs because it is too easy to forget to do the manual updates |