[Pop captions up]
HI I'M RICK YAEGER FROM macmerc.com AND I'M GOING TO UNCLUTTER YOUR MAC DESKTOP TODAY ON THE LAB. [Pop captions down] [Theme music playing] [Pop captions up]
Leo Laporte: HELLO THERE! HOW ARE YOU? GOOD TO SEE YOU AND WELCOME! IT'S TIME FOR THE LAB WITH LEO. I'M LEO LAPORTE YOUR GENIAL HOST AND THIS IS A SHOW WHERE WE EXPLAIN HOW TECHNOLOGY WORKS; WE HELP YOU UNDERSTAND IT. WE TALK ABOUT SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE, THE INTERNET BUT ALSO THINGS LIKE MP3 PLAYERS AND CELLPHONES AND CAMCORDERS, HOME THEATRES, ALL OF THAT STUFF. KATE ABRAHAM IS HERE. SHE IS THE KEEPER OF THE CALLERS SO TO SPEAK.
Kate Abraham: I KEEP THEM ALL IN ORDER.
Leo Laporte: YOU'VE GOT EM ALL JAMMED IN HERE READY TO POP OUT.
Kate Abraham: CONTROL FREAK. [Giggles]
Leo Laporte: AND THE KEEPER OF THE RED CLIPBOARD. HOW ARE YOU TODAY?
Kate Abraham: I'M VERY WELL THANK YOU.
Leo Laporte: THIS IS SHOW NUMBER 19. WE'RE GETTING ALONG HERE. YOU SAW RICK YAEGER A LITTLE BIT EARLIER, A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE FOR MANY YEARS FROM macmerc.com. HE'S A MAC EXPERT. HE'S A PHOTOSHOP EXPERT, JUST A GREAT ALL AROUND GUY. HE'S GOING TO SHOW YOU SOME WAYS TO UNCLUTTER YOUR DESKTOP, A FUN LITTLE PROGRAM. ALSO HOWIE WOO, THE GUY WHO DID THESE. DON'T WE LOVE OUR MUGS?
Kate Abraham: THESE MUGS ARE FANTASTIC.
Leo Laporte: I'M SORRY THIS IS EPISODE 25 WHY DID I SAY IT WAS EPISODE 19? SIX MORE THAN WE THOUGHT.
Kate Abraham: IT'S JUST SLIPPING AWAY.
Leo Laporte: MY GOODNESS! THIS IS THE MUG THAT HOWIE MADE US AND THIS IS ALSO A TRIVET. HE'S DONE THIS BEFORE THOUGH. HE DID THIS FOR US ON CALL FOR HELP. HE'S ACTUALLY HERE TO SHOW US HOW HE DOES THIS KIND OF ILLUSTRATION. HE SAYS HE'S NOT A VERY GOOD ARTIST.
Kate Abraham: DON'T BELIEVE HIM.
Leo Laporte: COULD HAVE FOOLED ME. COULD HAVE FOOLED ME. HE'S A GOOD ARTIST BUT MAYBE HE'S NOT A GOOD ILLUSTRATOR, FREE HAND ARTIST. HE'S A GOOD ARTIST. NOT A GOOD FREE HAND ARTIST. I DON'T CARE, HIS GIRLFRIEND'S A GOOD COOKIE BAKER AND THAT'S ALL WE REALLY CARE ABOUT.
Kate Abraham: [Laughing]
Leo Laporte: BRIBE US WITH COOKIES! HOWIE'S COMING UP IN JUST A LITTLE BIT. BUT WE ANSWER CALLS ON THIS SHOW THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT THE LAB WITH LEO. ACTUALLY THAT'S NOT WHY THEY CALL IT THE LAB BUT IT'S WHAT WE DO. I'M NOT SURE WHY THEY CALL IT THE LAB. KATE ABRAHAM COULD YOU GIVE US A CALLER PLEASE.
Kate Abraham: WE HAVE MARY AND SHE'S FROM SYDNEY IN NEW SOUTH WALES.
Leo Laporte: WHAT A GREAT PICTURE. WE GREATEST THE PICTURES FROM AUSTRALIA. HELLO MARY.
Mary: HELLO.
Leo Laporte: WELCOME TO THE LAB WITH LEO. WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP YOU TODAY? [Pop captions up]
Mary: I HAVE SORT OF A PROBLEM. I BOUGHT A NEW COMPUTER JUST AFTER CHRISTMAS AND I WANTED TO UPDATE MY OLD ONE. [Pop captions down]
Mary: MY PROBLEM IS...MY COMPUTER IS IN MY SEWING ROOM AND I LOVE LISTENING TO MUSIC. I PUT DVDS OR ANYTHING, SO LONG AS IT'S IN THE BACKGROUND. NOW IF I PLAY IT OFF OF MY CD OR DVD DRIVE, WHATEVER YOU CALL IT, IT IS VERY DISTORTED. NOW IF I DOWNLOAD IT AND PUT IT ONTO MY HARD DRIVE, IT PLAYS WELL.
Leo Laporte: VERY INTERESTING.
Mary: NOW I'VE GONE INTO EVERY SETTING I COULD POSSIBLY FIND AND I'VE GONE INTO TROUBLESHOOTING AND I JUST KEEP GOING AROUND IN A LOOP, DO THIS, DO THIS, DO THIS AND I END UP BACK WHERE I STARTED.
Leo Laporte: RIGHT, INTERESTING PUZZLE YOU'VE COME UP WITH FOR US. DO YOU LISTEN TO DVD MOVIES OR JUST MUSIC? [Pop captions up]
Mary: DVD MOVIES. [Laughing] IT DRIVES MY HUSBAND MAD BECAUSE EVEN WHEN I'M OUTSIDE IN THE FAMILY ROOM WHEN WE PUT DVD MOVIES ON OR EVEN IF I'M LISTENING TO SKYPE-- [Pop captions down]
Leo Laporte: YOU'LL WANDER INTO THE OTHER ROOM. YOU DON'T CARE; YOU DON'T NEED TO SEE THE PICTURE.
Mary: IN MY FAMILY ROOM WE HAVE THE ORDINARY T.V. AND THAT'S GOT ALL THE PROGRAMS BUT IF WE'RE WATCHING A MOVIE, USUALLY I'M SEWING WHILE I'M WATCHING--
Leo Laporte: YOU DON'T PAY ATTENTION DO YOU? YOU'RE JUST LISTENING!
Mary: I LISTEN! I GET CRANKY IF HE PUTS LIKE WORD MOVIES ON BECAUSE I CAN'T READ THEM SO THAT MEANS I CAN'T DO WHAT I'M DOING.
Leo Laporte: YOU CAN'T READ THE SUBTITLES. I KNOW EXACTLY HOW YOU FEEL. I'M THE SAME WAY; I LISTEN AND EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE I'LL LOOK UP TO SEE SOMETHING BUT MOST OF THE TIME I'M NOT LOOKING. I'M VERY AUDITORY. SO THAT MUST BE VERY FRUSTRATING THAT THESE SOUND SO BAD. LET'S DO A LITTLE DIAGNOSTIC THING AS I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
Mary: I GOT ANOTHER SYMPTOM THE OTHER DAY. [Pop captions up]
Mary: I HAD A MOVIE RUNNING IN THE BACKGROUND OR IT MIGHT BE MUSIC I CAN'T REMEMBER AND I DECIDED TO RIP A COUPLE MORE CDS. AS SOON AS I STARTED THAT THE AUDIO FROM THE HARD DRIVE STARTED MUCKING UP AGAIN. [Pop captions down]
Mary: AND I'M THINKING, HEY WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW?
Leo Laporte: THAT'S VERY INTERESTING. SO AS SOON AS YOUR COMPUTER GOT BUSY DOING SOMETHING THE AUDIO STARTED BREAKING UP.
Mary: YES BUT THE THING IS IT'S A DUAL [indistinct], I'VE GOT PLENTY OF MEMORY HERE.
Leo Laporte: I DON'T THINK IT'S SO MUCH THE COMPUTER AS IT IS THE AUDIO DRIVER. THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS, NOW AS I'M HEARING MORE OF THIS I HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT WE COULD DO TO FIX THIS PROBLEM. THERE ARE A COUPLE OF THINGS I WAS THINKING, IF IT ONLY HAPPENS WHEN YOU LISTEN TO CDS BUT IT DOESN'T HAPPEN WHEN YOU LISTEN TO ANY OTHER AUDIO, THERE IS ON MOST COMPUTERS, A CD-AUDIO CONNECTION THAT IS JUST A WIRE LEADING FROM THE CD PLAYER TO THE SOUNDCARD, SOMETIMES THAT COULD BE A PROBLEM, BUT IF IT HAPPENS TO DVD AUDIO, THEN THAT'S NOT IT. NOW YOU'RE SAYING IT'S HAPPENING ALSO EVEN WHEN YOU'RE LISTENING OFF THE HARD DRIVE WHEN YOUR COMPUTER GETS VERY BUSY. THAT'S TELLING ME IT'S PROBABLY A SOFTWARE DRIVER ISSUE. MOST COMPUTERS NOWADAYS USE AUDIO CARDS THAT ARE ON THE MOTHERBOARD. THEY'RE NOT STANDALONE AUDIO CARDS AND THESE AUDIO CARDS REALLY LET THE PROCESSOR DO MOST OF THE WORK OF DECODING THE AUDIO. THERE'S A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE DECODING THE AUDIO FOR INSTANCE WHEN YOU'RE WATCHING A DVD, THAT'S A LOT OF PROCESSING. THE COMPUTER IS ACTUALLY QUITE BUSY ALREADY DECODING THE VIDEO SO THAT MIGHT MAKE SENSE THAT THE AUDIO WOULD BE A LITTLE BIT- - WHEN YOU SAY "DISTORTED" WHAT EXACTLY DOES IT SOUND LIKE?
Mary: IT SOUNDS ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING. YOU COULDN'T LISTEN TO IT, REALLY.
Leo Laporte: IS IT SCRATCHY? IS IT PAUSING A LOT?
Mary: IT'S LIKE IT'S MISSING PIECES.
Leo Laporte: OH THAT'S GOOD! THAT'S GOOD, NOW I UNDERSTAND. SEE THERE'S DIFFERENT KINDS OF DISTORTIONS AND ERRORS, MISSING PIECES MEANS IT'S EXACTLY WHAT MY INITIAL THOUGHT WAS, IT'S GETTING TOO BUSY. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT GETS TOO BUSY, IT JUST DROPS IT OUT; IT STOPS PAYING ATTENTION TO IT. IT SAYS I'M GOING TO FOCUS ON THIS FOR A MINUTE, I'LL GET BACK TO YOU AND YOU HEAR [halting speech]
Mary: IT'S CONTINUAL. IT'S NOT BIT AND DROP AND BIT AND DROP, IT'S CONTINUAL SORT OF--
Leo Laporte: I'M REALLY THINKING THE FIRST THING I WOULD DO IS CHECK THE AUDIO DRIVER WHICH IS ACTUALLY PART OF THE MOTHERBOARD DRIVER. THIS COMPUTER, DID YOU BUY IT...IS IT LIKE AN ALL IN ONE OR DID YOU HAVE SOMEBODY MAKE IT FOR YOU?
Mary: NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, I BOUGHT IT. I DID THAT BEFORE WHEN MY SON WAS LIVING AT HOME. IT COST ME TWO COMPUTERS I MIGHT ADD.
Leo Laporte: [Laughs] THESE ARE ACTUALLY THE PROBLEMS YOU HAVE WHEN YOU HAVE A HOMEMADE COMPUTER. BUT EVEN--
Mary: THIS ONE HERE IS AN NEC--
Leo Laporte: YOU BOUGHT AN NEC. WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST DOING IS GOING TO THE NEC WEBSITE AND LOOKING AT THAT MODEL AND MAKING SURE YOU HAVE THE LATEST MOTHERBOARD DRIVER BECAUSE THE AUDIO DRIVERS ARE IN THE MOTHERBOARD DRIVERS FOR THAT SYSTEM AND UPDATE THEM.
Mary: I HAVE TRIED-- LIKE WHEN IT GOES INTO ALL THE PROBLEMS IT SAYS CHECK FOR LATEST UPDATES ON THE DRIVE AND I'VE DONE THAT.
Leo Laporte: DID YOU DO THAT ONLINE? DID YOU DO THAT ON THE WEBSITE?
Mary: I DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT WAS GOING TO NEC. YOU KNOW WHEN YOU GO INTO THE DIAGNOSTICS AND--
Leo Laporte: THAT DOESN'T DO IT. YOU NEED TO ACTUALLY YOURSELF, BY HAND, GO TO NEC'S WEBSITE.
Mary: OKAY, OKAY.
Leo Laporte: WHAT IT'S DOING IS WHAT WINDOW'S KNOWS AND IT'S FINDING THOSE. AND ALSO THE DRIVERS THAT COME ON THE CD, THOSE ARE USUALLY PRETTY OUT OF DATE. SEAN, I THINK WE'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK DON'T YOU WHEN WE SAY THAT STUTTERING IS THE COMPUTER GETTING BUSY.
Sean Carruthers: I THINK SO. THERE'S ONE OTHER THING THAT MIGHT BE WORTH LOOKING AT AS WELL. INSIDE THE CONTROL PANEL UNDER SOUND AND THE AUDIO DRIVER THERE'S USUALLY A TAB THAT ALLOWS YOU TO ADJUST THE ACCELERATION OF THE AUDIO AS WELL. [Pop captions up]
Sean Carruthers: IF IT'S SET TO FULL, YOU MIGHT WANT TO SCALING THAT BACK A LITTLE BIT. [Pop captions down]
Sean Carruthers: OR IF IT'S SET VERY LOW SEND IT THE OTHER WAY AND THAT MIGHT HELP SET IT IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AS WELL.
Leo Laporte: THAT IS A VERY IMPORTANT THING. THIS IS VISTA'S SO IT MAY LOOK A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT IN THERE. BUT THAT IS EXACTLY RIGHT, THE ACCELERATION COULD CAUSE A PROBLEM SO YOU MIGHT WANT TO PLAY WITH THAT OR EVEN THE PERFORMANCE INFORMATION IN VISTA WILL TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON. IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT WHEN YOU'RE HEARING THIS KIND OF DROP OUT, WHILE YOU'RE GETTING BUSY, WHILE THE COMPUTER'S GETTING BUSY AND NOT AT OTHER TIMES, THAT IT IS THE COMPUTER THAT'S OVERMATCHED, IT'S TOO BUSY. THIS IS PLAYBACK, RECORDING, SOUNDS...I WONDER WHERE IT WOULD BE. PROPERTIES...MAYBE CONFIGURE. MAYBE IT'S IN CONFIGURE.
Sean Carruthers: SOUND AND AUDIO DEVICES, AND UNDER THE AUDIO TAB AND THEN UNDER SOUND PLAYBACK MENU. WHEN YOU HIT THE ADVANCED TAB ON THERE THERE'S A PERFORMANCE TAB AS WELL THAT YOU COULD ADJUST THE SETTING UNDER.
Leo Laporte: IT'S ALL DIFFERENT IN VISTA BUT I THINK THIS IS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE. YOU MIGHT WANT TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE AUDIO DEFAULT FORMAT. SHE SAID SHE'S PLAYED WITH THE SETTINGS BUT IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING. WHEN YOU HEAR THAT KIND OF STUTTERING, IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON. THE COMPUTER'S GETTING BUSY. YOU HAVE A FAST COMPUTER SO I THINK MOST CERTAINLY THE PROBLEM IS A DRIVER. THANK YOU FOR THE CALL. I HOPE THAT HELPS JUST A LITTLE BIT FOR YOU. THAT MUST BE VERY FRUSTRATING, YOU GET A BRAND NEW COMPUTER AND IT CAN'T PLAYBACK AUDIO AT ALL. I THINK REALLY NEC SHOULD BE HELPING YOU WITH THIS BUT I'M GLAD TO DO WHAT I CAN. THANKS FOR THE CALL. I SEE YOU THERE. THANKS FOR THE CALL, SEE YOU LATER. TAKE CARE. [Pop captions up]
Leo Laporte: COMING UP IN JUST A BIT, HOWIE WOO GOING TO DRAW FOR YOU AND RICK YAEGER WILL HELP YOU UNCLUTTER YOUR MAC AS THE LAB CONTINUES. STAY WITH US. [Pop captions down] [Commercial]
Leo Laporte: WELCOME BACK TO THE LAB WITH LEO. RICK YAEGER IS AN OLD FRIEND FROM macmerc.com, NOT THAT OLD, FROM macmer.com AND A FELLOW PODCASTER.
Rick Yaeger: YES.
Leo Laporte: YOU DID A FUN LITTLE PODCAST FOR SOME TIME. YOU STILL DOING THAT?
Rick Yaeger: NO I'M NOT DOING THAT ANYMORE.
Leo Laporte: IT WAS WITH DIGITAL BILL.
Rick Yaeger: YEAH, THE SPOILERS.
Leo Laporte: IT WAS A FUN IDEA. IT WAS THE TWO OF THEM WATCHING DVDS AND THEY WERE RECORDING THEIR FUNNY OBSERVATIONS--
Rick Yaeger: SOMETIMES FUNNY SOMETIMES NOT SO FUNNY.
Leo Laporte: BUT YOUR PARTNER PASSED AWAY UNFORTUNATELY. WE WILL MISS DIGITAL BILL. BUT YOU'RE STILL DOING THE PHOTOSHOP STUFF. GREAT TUTORIALS--
Rick Yaeger: STILL DOING PHOTOSHOP. STILL DOING macmer.com. I WANT TO SHOW YOU A LITTLE SOMETHING A FRIEND OF MINE PUT TOGETHER, AUGUST TROMETER. [Pop captions up]
Leo Laporte: I KNOW AUGUST. HE USED TO WORK WITH OUR FRIEND RAY SLAKINSKI ON
Both: IPODDER X.
Rick Yaeger: LET'S SAY IT TOGETHER...
Both: IPODDER X. [Pop captions down]
Leo Laporte: ANOTHER LATE LAMENTED PROGRAM FOR THE MACINTOSH.
Rick Yaeger: IT GOT WATSONED BY APPLE. THIS PROGRAM IS CALLED DESKTOPPLE PRO.
Leo Laporte: I DIDN'T KNOW APPLE DID THIS.
Rick Yaeger: YEAH DESKTOPPLE PRO. ALL IT DID WAS HIDE YOUR DESKTOP CLUTTER, YOUR ICONS AND WHAT HAVE YOU.
Leo Laporte: MERLIN MAN LIKES A PROGRAM, A SIMILAR PROGRAM CALLED SOMETHING AWAY. BUZZED AWAY--
Rick Yaeger: SPIRITED AWAY.
Leo Laporte: SPIRITED AWAY.
Rick Yaeger: THAT ONE GETS RID OF YOUR WINDOWS AND DESKTOPPLE PRO DOES THAT AS WELL.
Leo Laporte: SO THIS IS MORE THAN JUST THAT?
Rick Yaeger: MORE THAN JUST THAT.
Leo Laporte: WELL SHOW US.
Rick Yaeger: BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE.
Leo Laporte: BUT WAIT! HOW MUCH WOULD YOU PAY NOW? WHAT IS DESKTOPPLE PRO?
Rick Yaeger: DESKTOPPLE PRO UNCLUTTERS THINGS. YOU CAN SEE MY SCREEN HERE HAS A LOT OF CLUTTER ON IT.
Leo Laporte: THIS IS PRETTY COMMON, ANYBODY WITH A WINDOWED SCREEN--
Rick Yaeger: I'M ADDICTED TO THE OPTION CLICK, OPTION CLICK TO DESKTOP AND WHATEVER YOU'RE WORKING ON DISAPPEARS BUT IT DOESN'T GET RID OF EVERYTHING, IT GETS RID OF WHAT YOU'RE WORKING ON. EVEN EXPOSE-- [Pop captions up]
Leo Laporte: IT'S TEMPORARY--
Rick Yaeger: IT'S TEMPORARY AND I'VE GOT MORE CLUTTER ON THE DESKTOP AND I'VE GOT AN EMBARRASSING DESKTOP PICTURE. [Pop captions down]
Leo Laporte: YOU CERTAINLY DO, AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT IT SAYS.
Rick Yaeger: SO LET'S INVOKE DESKTOPPLE PRO. I USE A KEY COMMAND AND IT GOES- - RIGHT, WAIT A MINUTE, I NEED TO ACTUALLY ACTIVATE.
Leo Laporte: AUGUST IS GOING [Grumbling]
Rick Yaeger: HIDE DESKTOP.
Leo Laporte: HIDE DESKTOP, OH!, THE EMBARRASSING DESKTOP HAS DISAPPEARED.
Rick Yaeger: IT'S GONE AWAY.
Leo Laporte: SO YOU CAN DO THAT IN A KEY STROKE?
Rick Yaeger: I CAN DO THAT IN A KEY STROKE. I HAVE IT AT COMMAND, SHIFT, ESCAPE. YOU CAN HAVE IT ACTIVATE WHEN YOU START UP YOUR KEYNOTE OR POWERPOINT.
Leo Laporte: RIGHT CAUSE WHEN YOU'RE DOING A PRESENTATION YOU DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO SEE YOUR EMBARRASSING DESKTOP.
Rick Yaeger: AND IT WORKS WITH MULTIPLE SCREENS, VERY NICE. I'VE ONLY GOT THE ONE ON THE LAPTOP HERE. BUT HE'S ALSO ADDED LIKE I SAID, WINDOW CLEANING WHERE THERE'S, WHATEVER I'M CURRENTLY WORKING ON IS THE ONLY WINDOW THAT'S OPEN.
Leo Laporte: I LIKE THAT TOO.
Rick Yaeger: AND TO ADD TO THAT, MENU DOOMING.
Leo Laporte: SO THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS MERLIN WAS TALKING ABOUT. HE DID A SEGMENT ON MAC CALLED A DISTRACTED MAC. HE'S KIND OF A.D.D. AS I AM AND WE DON'T LIKE HAVING ALL THESE BUZZY THINGS GOING ON. WE WANT JUST THE THING WE'RE WORKING ON. SO THIS WOULD ALLOW US TO CLEAN OUR ENTIRE DESKTOP AND ONLY THE THING WE WANT TO SEE WOULD BE THERE.
Rick Yaeger: THAT'S IT. JUST WHAT YOU'RE WORKING ON AT THIS MOMENT. AND EVEN THE WINDOW CLEANING CAN KIND OF CONFLICT WITH YOUR WORKFLOW OCCASIONALLY. IF YOU'RE TRYING TO DRAG FROM ONE PROGRAM TO ANOTHER, AUGUST HAS ADDED AN EXCLUSIONS LIST--
Leo Laporte: SO YOU COULD SAY WHICH PROGRAMS "DON'T DO THAT".
Rick Yaeger: I'M TRYING TO COPY SOMETHING ROM FINDER TO SUITCASE OR SOMETHING, YOU CAN ADD WHATEVER YOU WANT IN THERE.
Leo Laporte: WELL SHOW US-- NOW YOU'VE SHOWN US THE CONTROL PANEL LET'S SEE THIS AT WORK. GET A MESSED UP DESKTOP.
Rick Yaeger: OKAY, LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT I'VE GOT HERE.
Leo Laporte: BECAUSE YOURS WAS PRETTY MESSY BEFORE.
Rick Yaeger: IT WAS MESSY.
Leo Laporte: GO BACK TO THE WAY IT WAS.
Rick Yaeger: YEAH, SO THAT'S THE NASTY DESKTOP.
Leo Laporte: ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE USING PHOTOSHOP WHERE YOU REALLY WANT A CLEAN, SIMPLE INTERFACE.
Rick Yaeger: AND THEN IT GOES...WOW.
Leo Laporte: NOW IT'S PRETTY.
Rick Yaeger: I NEED TO TALK TO AUGUST SO WHEN I SWITCH...OH THERE GOES FINDER.
Leo Laporte: OH SO ONLY THAT ONE WINDOW, OH AND WHEN YOU MOVE YOUR MOUSE UP TO THE MENU IT COMES BACK SO YOU'RE NOT REALLY WITHOUT MENU.
Rick Yaeger: AND I CAN ACCESS EVERYTHING FROM THE MENU.
Leo Laporte: SO THIS ADDS ANOTHER DESKTOPPLE INTERFACE.
Rick Yaeger: ALL MY DESKTOP FILES--
Leo Laporte: HOW MUCH IS DESKTOPPLE PRO?
Rick Yaeger: A MERE $17.
Leo Laporte: THAT'S A GOOD DEAL. AND IS THERE STILL A DESKTOPPLE UNPRO?
Rick Yaeger: THERE'S A DESKTOPPPLE BASIC AND ONE THING THAT SEPARATES THE TWO IS THAT DESKTOPPLE BASIC IS A RUNNING APPLICATION, IT DOES RESIDE IN YOUR DOCK. [Pop captions up]
Rick Yaeger: THIS ONE IS PREFERENCE PANE SO IT DOESN'T TAKE UP ANY DOCK SPACE. YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO HAVE IT IN THE MENU IF YOU DON'T WANT IT BECAUSE YOU CAN MAKE IT A WIDGET. [Pop captions down]
Leo Laporte: THAT'S COOL.
Rick Yaeger: AND IT'S RIGHT THERE.
Leo Laporte: THERE'S A DESKTOPPLE WIDGET WIDGET.
Rick Yaeger: AND IT PLAYS NICE WITH EXPOSE WHEN YOU MAKE ALL YOUR WINDOWS SCATTER OFF THE SCREEN AND IT DOESN'T SCATTER THE FAKE DESKTOP YOU PUT THERE.
Leo Laporte: CAUSE THAT'S JUST A WINDOW.
Rick Yaeger: YEAH.
Leo Laporte: AND CAN YOU BRING BACK YOUR UNFAKE, EMBARRASSING DESKTOP-- THERE IT IS, ONCE THE BOSS MOVES BACK TO HIS OFFICE.
Rick Yaeger: ONCE THE BOSS MOVES BACK TO HIS OFFICE.
Leo Laporte: THIS IS GOOD FOR THINGS LIKE WEB CONFERENCING WHERE YOU'RE SHOWING SOMEBODY YOUR DESKTOP, IT'D BE KIND OF NICE TO CLEAN THAT UP BEFORE YOU LET ANYBODY SEE IT. DESKTOPPLE PRO IS FREE TO TRY FOR 15 DAYS, $17 TO BUY. AND WHERE DO WE GET IT?
Rick Yaeger: FOGGY NOGGIN SOFTWARE, foggynoggin.com
Leo Laporte: IS THAT AN AUGGIE SITE? [Pop captions up]
Rick Yaeger: HE'S GOT A FEW GREAT PROGRAMS ON THERE.
Leo Laporte: RICK COME BACK, SHOW US SOME MORE. RICK YAEGER IS AT macmerc.com SOME GREAT PHOTOSHOP TUTORIALS. I'D LIKE YOU TO DO ONE OF THOSE FOR US, YOU HAVE SOME FUN THINGS ON THERE AND WE'LL SEE YOU ON [indistinct]. [Pop captions down]
Leo Laporte: RICK MACMERC YAEGER. HERE'S A CHANCE TO TEST YOUR INTUITIVE PERCEPTION OF EXTRA TINY THINGS. THIS IS A CLOSEUP-- OH I KNOW! I THINK I...MAYBE I DON'T. THIS IS A CLOSE UP OF SOMETHING WE HAVE AROUND THE LAB, A COMMON EVERYDAY LAB ITEM. WHAT IS IT? WE'LL ZOOM OUT AND FIND OUT WHEN WE CONTINUE, STAY RIGHT HERE. [Commercial]
Leo Laporte: BEFORE THE BREAK WE ASKED YOU WHAT THE TECH IS THAT? LET'S ZOOM OUT TO FIND OUT. IT'S THE TOP OF A BATTERY, OH I GOT IT RIGHT HERE, LOOK AT THAT. THAT FOOLED ME ACTUALLY. I THOUGHT IT WAS AN IPOD CASE. JUST SHOWS YOU I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS. THAT'S WHAT IT WAS. ALRIGHT ENOUGH OF THAT WHAT THE TECH SILLINESS. THANKS SEAN CARRUTHERS FOR FOOLING ME AGAIN! NOW LET'S GET ANOTHER CALLER ON THE AIR. KATE ABRAHAM WHO HAVE YOU GOT? FATHER AND SON IT LOOKS LIKE.
Kate Abraham: WE HAVE A DUO. WE HAVE MIKE FROM CAMBRIDGE BUT NOT CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND BUT CAMBRIDGE ONTARIO.
Mike: HELLO LEO.
Leo Laporte: WHO'S THAT SITTING WITH YOU? IS THAT YOUR DAD?
Mike: THIS IS MY OPA.
Leo Laporte: YOUR OPA! HEY OPA.
HI LEO.
Leo Laporte: HOW YA DOING? IT'S NICE, I LIKE THAT WE'VE GOT TWO GENERATIONS.
... RIGHT AT THE MOMENT. HE'S SITTING HERE LOOKING AT A TELEVISION AND HE'S GOT A DESKTOP GOING AND WE'VE GOT TWO LAPTOPS SITTING ON THE COFFEE TABLE IN FRONT OF US AND I AM DISCOMBOBULATED.
Leo Laporte: [Laughing] WELL WELCOME TO THE 21ST CENTURY OPA. [Pop captions up]
Leo Laporte: IT'S GOING TO GET WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER LET ME TELL YOU. [Pop captions down]
Leo Laporte: I GUESS IT COULD GET BETTER; IF WE LOST ALL ELECTRICAL POWER WE'D HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE OLD WAYS. WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU MIKE? WHAT CAN I HELP YOU WITH?
Mike: WELL RECENTLY I GOT A RATHER HIGH END DESKTOP COMPUTER.
Leo Laporte: HOW NICE FOR YOU.
Mike: I GOT TWO VIDEO CARDS FOR IT AND ESSENTIALLY BOTH VIDEO CARDS TAKE UP TWO SLOTS EACH INSIDE THE COMPUTER--
Leo Laporte: IS IT SLI IS THAT WHY YOU'VE GOT TWO?
Mike: IT'S A CROSSFIRE.
Leo Laporte: A CROSSFIRE SO YOU'RE GAMING.
Mike: YES.
Leo Laporte: AND WHICH ATI CARDS DID YOU GOT IN THERE?
Mike: IT'S ATI X19--
Leo Laporte: OH NICE. SO YOU'VE GOT TWO OF THOSE HUH?
Mike: YEAH--
Leo Laporte: THEY'VE GOT A HEAT SEEK THAT'S ABOUT THIS BIG AND FAN THAT'S ABOUT THAT BIG AND BY THE TIME YOU'VE GOT BOTH CARDS IN THERE THERE'S NO MORE ROOM. [Laughing]
Mike: THAT'S EXACTLY IT, THAT'S THE PROBLEM THERE'S NO MORE ROOM. I DID WANT TO HAVE A NETWORK CABLE LAYING IN MY ROOM SO I WANTED TO PUT A WIRELESS NETWORK CARD IN. BASICALLY WHAT THEY SAID WAS THERE'S NO MORE ROOM FOR A NETWORK CARD SO WE CAN'T PUT IT IN FOR YOU. I ASKED HIM FOR SOME ALTERNATIVES AND HE SAID HE COULD GIVE ME A USB DEVICE.
Leo Laporte: YEAH I THINK THOSE WORK QUITE WELL.
Mike: AND SO WHAT I GOT WAS A BELKIN ONE AND IT DIDN'T WORK VERY WELL SO I TOOK IT BACK-- [Pop captions up]
Leo Laporte: TELL ME ABOUT YOUR BAY STATION, WHAT KIND OF BAY STATION ARE YOU USING?
Mike: SORRY?
Leo Laporte: TELL ME ABOUT YOUR WI-FI BAY STATION. WHAT IS YOUR BAY STATION.
Mike: IT'S A BELKIN. [Pop captions down]
Leo Laporte: IT'S A BELKIN 802.11N?
Mike: I THINK IT'S G.
Leo Laporte: G OKAY.
Mike: THAT'S THE ROUTER YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT RIGHT?
Leo Laporte: YUP.
Mike: SO I TOOK IT BACK AND GOT A LINKSYS ONE, IT'S NOT WORKING. IT'S WORKING ALRIGHT. I'LL JUST SHOW YOU HERE.
Leo Laporte: THE KEY IS-- YEAH I USE THAT ALL THE TIME. THE KEY ON THAT, ONE OF THE NICE THINGS, I FRANKLY THINGS THESE ARE QUITE GOOD. I'VE USED A BELKIN, THE BELKIN'S THE ONE THAT HAS A LITTLE ADAPTER, IT'S A THING YOU PUT IN THE ADAPTER OR IT COULD BE A USB KEY COMING OUT OF YOUR LAPTOP RIGHT.
Mike: RIGHT.
Leo Laporte: I'VE USED BOTH OF THOSE AND I'VE HAD VERY GOOD RESULTS WITH THEM. ONE OF THE ADVANTAGES YOU GET WITH THESE IS YOU CAN PLACE THE ANTENNA. YOU GET ONE THAT'S AN INTERNAL CARD, YOU'RE STUCK WITH THAT ONE POSITION. THE ANTENNA CAN'T GO ANYWHERE BUT THESE USB'S, YOU COULD EVEN USE SOMETHING LIKE ONE OF THESE, A USB EXTENDER AND YOU COULD HAVE THAT, YOU CAN PUT THAT ANTENNA ANYWHERE. THAT'S WHAT I WOULD RECOMMEND. PLAY WITH THE PLACEMENT OF THE USB DEVICE. MAYBE EVEN GET A USB EXTENDER SO YOU COULD MOVE IT. OF COURSE THE CLOSER TO THE BAY STATION THE BETTER BUT EVEN IF YOU CAN'T GET IT MUCH CLOSER, JUST POSITIONING IT BETTER MIGHT GIVE YOU A BETTER SIGNAL. HOW MANY BARS ARE YOU GETTING?
Mike: IT'S USUALLY TWO BARS.
Leo Laporte: YEAH TWO IS RIGHT AT THE LIMIT I FOUND. A LOT OF TIMES YOU CAN GET TWO BARS AND STILL NOT GET CONNECTIVITY.
Mike: IT'S VERY SPORADIC IN ITS CONNECTIONS. I ALSO RUN A LAPTOP AND IT USES ITS INTERNAL CONNECTION WI-FI CARD AND IT CONNECTS FINE ALL THE TIME.
Leo Laporte: I DON'T THINK IT'S THE USB. I THINK IT MIGHT BE-- ARE YOU USING XP OR VISTA?
Mike: XP.
Leo Laporte: OKAY, IT MIGHT ALSO BE XP SETTINGS. RECENTLY MICROSOFT SHIPPED AND DIDN'T TELL ANYBODY, AN UPDATE, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS ON SECURITY NOW, TO ITS WIRELESS NETWORKING DRIVERS. IT MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE. SO I'M GOING TO RECOMMEND, I'M GOING TO PUT IN THE SHOW NOTES THE LINK, THEY PUT IT OUT IN DECEMBER AND THEY DIDN'T TELL ANYBODY, THEY DIDN'T EVEN PUSH IT OVER WINDOWS UPDATE. IT'S CALLED THE WIRELESS UPDATE ROLL-UP PACKAGE. YOU CAN ACTUALLY GOGGLE THAT, "WIRELESS UPDATE ROLL-UP PACKAGE" AND I FOUND THIS MAKES IMMENSE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE RELIABILITY OF WIRELESS NETWORKING INCLUDING DROPOUTS. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENS WITH THESE IS IT SEES OTHER WIRELESS NETWORKS AND IT GETS PROMISCUOUS AND TRIES TO JOIN THEM. THIS THING IS GREAT. I THINK IT'S-- I HIGHLY RECOMMENDED IT. IF YOU GOOGLE "WIRELESS UPDATE ROLL-UP"...
Mike: THERE WAS ONE OTHER THING I COULD POSSIBLY THINK THAT WAS CAUSING IT WOULD BE THE PRODUCT THAT SHIPPED, THEIR OWN WIRELESS INTERFACE, SOFTWARE.
Leo Laporte: DON'T USE THAT.
Mike: THEN THERE'S ALSO THE BUILT-IN--
Leo Laporte: THIS IS TRUE OF EVER WI-FI CARD MADE WHETHER THEY'RE USB OR NOT. THEY ALL HAVE THEIR OWN DRIVERS AND XP COMES WITH DRIVERS. YOU CHOOSE ONE. I ALWAYS USE THE XP ONE CAUSE I'M USED TO THE INTERFACE. NO MATTER WHAT CARD I'M USING OR WHAT COMPUTER I'M USING IT WORKS. DID YOU TRY USING THE BELKINS OR THE LINKSYSES?
Mike: THAT'S WHAT'S WEIRD. SOMETIMES IT USES THE WINDOWS ONE, SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T.
Leo Laporte: DISABLE EM. TURN EM OFF, GET RID OF THEM. EVEN UNINSTALL THEM AND USE THE WINDOWS INTERFACE. THAT COULD BE ANOTHER OTHER CAUSE OF THE CONFUSION. BUT THE USB, TAKE IT FROM ME, THE USB WI-FI ADAPTERS WORK GREAT, JUST AS WELL IF NOT BETTER THAN AN INTERNAL CARD SO IT'S NOT THE FACT THAT IT'S AN EXTERNAL THAT'S THE PROBLEM. IT'S A SOFTWARE OR DRIVER ISSUE. GET THIS WINDOWS ROLL-UP, IT'S GREAT. I WOULD UNINSTALL THE THIRD PARTY STUFF AND USE WINDOWS XP'S OWN WI-FI CONTROLLER.
Mike: IT DOES SEEM TO DO A LITTLE BETTER JOB.
Leo Laporte: I THINK IT DOES A BETTER JOB. AND THERE'S NOTHING ON THE BELKIN OR THE LINKSYS SOFTWARE THAT YOU NEED, IT'S JUST EXTRA.
Mike: GOOD STUFF.
Leo Laporte: OKAY THANKS FOR THE CALL MIKE. BYE BYE OPA!
SO LONG LEO.
Mike: THANK YOU LEO.
Leo Laporte: SEE YOU LATER. ISN'T THAT CUTE? I THINK IT'S GREAT WHEN YOU COMPUTE WITH YOUR GRANDPA. LET'S GIVE YOU ONE MORE CHANCE TO TAKE OUR QUIZ. ACTUALLY THIS IS THE FIRST CHANCE. [Blank for boards]
Leo Laporte: WHAT ARE THEY LAUGHING AT? GET TO THE WEBSITE, GIVE US THE ANSWER WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT LATER. ISN'T THAT WHAT YOU CALL IT-- [Commercial]
Leo Laporte: THERE'S HOWIE WOO WORKING ON A CARTOON OF ME. I LIKE IT. WE'LL TALK WITH HOWIE IN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW TO DO DRAW USING DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION TOOLS. HE USES TWO DIFFERENT PROGRAMS, PHOTOSHOP AND PAINTER. WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT BUT FIRST ANOTHER CALL FROM THE LOVELY KATE ABRAHAM.
Kate Abraham: THIS IS COLE. HE'S FROM SPRUCE GROVE IN ALBERTA.
Leo Laporte: SPRUCE GROVE. HELLO SPRUCE GROVE! WHAT'S HIS NAME?
Kate Abraham: COLE.
Leo Laporte: OH I THOUGHT YOUR NAME WAS SPRUCE GROVE. HEY COLE. HOW ARE YOU COLE? THAT WOULD BE A GOOD NAME. HI I'M SPRUCE, SPRUCE GROVE. WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU COLE?
Cole: WELL MY INTERNET EXPLORER'S GETTING A LITTLE BIT OF POP UPS HERE AND MY SYSTEM'S BEEN RUNNING SLIGHTLY SLOWER THAN USUAL.
Leo Laporte: YEAH SOUNDS LIKE YOU'VE GOT A LITTLE SPYWARE ON THE SYSTEM THERE. [Pop captions up]
Leo Laporte: WHAT KIND OF POP UPS ARE YOU GETTING?
Cole: SOME FREE SURVEY STUFF- -
Leo Laporte: YEAH YOU'VE GOT SPYWARE. [Pop captions down]
Leo Laporte: ONCE YOU GET SPYWARE ON YOUR SYSTEM, IT'S PRETTY DARN HARD TO GET RID OF IT. DO YOU HAVE ANY ANTI-SPYWARE SOFTWARE ON THERE NOW?
Cole: YEAH I'VE GOT THREE DIFFERENT ANTI-SPYWARE THAT I SCAN WITH.
Leo Laporte: AND WHAT DID THEY SAY?
Cole: ASIDE FROM SOMETIMES A FEW COOKIES AND STUFF, THEY HAVEN'T PICKED UP ANYTHING.
Leo Laporte: OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE WRONG AREN'T THEY? THERE'S NO QUESTION YOU'VE GOT-- I MEAN UNLESS THESE POP UPS ARE- - ARE THEY ONLY WHEN YOU'RE SURFING CERTAIN SITES?
Cole: NO, IT'S EVEN IF I GO TO GET MY EMAIL--
Leo Laporte: YEAH THAT'S SPYWARE. [Pop captions up]
Leo Laporte: HERE'S THE PROBLEM UNFORTUNATELY IS THAT SPYWARE MOVES VERY, VERY QUICKLY AND THESE GUYS ARE CONSTANTLY UPDATING TO DEFEAT TO THE ANTI- SPYWARE SOFTWARE. [Pop captions down]
Leo Laporte: WHY BECAUSE THEY MAKE MONEY. EVERY TIME YOU CLICK ONE OF THOSE AD LINKS THEY GET MONEY SO THERE'S A STRONG INCENTIVE TO NOT ONLY GET THEIR ADS IN YOUR SYSTEM BUT TO KEEP EM THERE AND TO DO SO THEY MAKE SURE THEY CHANGE REGULARLY SO THAT THE ANTI-SPYWARE PROGRAMS WON'T SEE THEM. OF COURSE UPDATE, THE FEW THAT WE'VE RECOMMENDED IN THE PAST AND I STILL RECOMMEND ARE AD- AWARE FROM lavasoft.de, THAT'S FREE.
Cole: YEAH, I USE IT.
Leo Laporte: SPYBOT SEARCH AND DESTROY.
Cole: USE THAT TOO.
Leo Laporte: THAT'S FROM safer-networking.org AND THEN THE LAST ONE IS MICROSOFT'S OWN, AND I THINK OF THE FREE ONES-- OOPS I GOT THE WRONG, SAFER- NETWORKING-- OH THERE IT IS, SPYBOT. AND WINDOW'S DEFENDER WHICH IS AT-- LET ME DO THIS RIGHT, Microsoft.com/spyware AND THAT'S FREE BUT YOU HAVE TO INSTALL WINDOWS GENUINE ADVANTAGE AND ALL THAT. ONCE YOU GET THE SPYWARE, THERE ARE SOME OTHER COMMERCIAL ONES THAT MIGHT ALSO WORK LIKE SPYSWEEPER.
Cole: I'VE GOT THAT TOO.
Leo Laporte: MAN YOU'VE GOT THEM ALL. AND NONE OF THESE ARE DETECTING THIS SPYWARE?
Cole: NONE OF THEM ARE PICKING THEM UP AND I SCAN REGULARLY WITH THEM.
Leo Laporte: OH MAN THAT'S REALLY TERRIBLE. I'M GOING TO HAVE TO RECOMMEND SOMETHING FROM merijm.com CALLED HIJACKTHIS. HAVE YOU HEARD OF THIS PROGRAM?
Cole: I BELIEVE I HAVE.
Leo Laporte: THE BEST WAY, YOU CAN DOWNLOAD IT. IT'S FROM merijm.com. THE BEST WAY TO DO THIS GO TO spywareinfo.com IT'LL DESCRIBE HIJACKTHIS. WHAT YOU'LL DO IS YOU WILL MAKE A LOG-- WHAT IT DOES IS IT SAVES EVERYTHING THAT'S RUNNING IN THE BACKGROUND IN YOUR SYSTEM, EVERYTHING. IT'LL MAKE A LOG OF THAT AND THEN YOU GO TO THEIR FORUMS ON spywareinfo.com COM AND YOU POLITELY SAY I AM JUST BAFFLED BECAUSE I HAVE-- MAKE IT SOMETHING THAT THEY'LL HAVE SOME INCENTIVE TO WORK ON. "I HAVE SOME SPYWARE THAT NO SPYWARE PROGRAM CAN RECOGNIZE, HELP ME, HELP ME." ALL THIS IS AT spywareinfo.com INCLUDING A LIST OF FORUMS YOU CAN GO TO WITH YOUR HIJACKTHIS BLOG. NOW IF NONE OF THIS SEEMS TO WORK THEN YOU MIGHT HAVE WHAT'S CALLED A ROOT KIT ON YOUR SYSTEM AND THAT IS THE SCARIEST THING THAT STARTED to HAPPEN WITH THESE SPY GUYS. A ROOT KIT IS A PROGRAM THAT GOES ON OUR SYSTEM THAT EFFECTIVELY HIDES THIS SOFTWARE FROM EVERYBODY INCLUDING ANTI- SPYWARE SOLUTIONS, ANTI-SPYWARE REMOVERS, EVEN FROM YOU. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF ROOT KIT REVEALER PROGRAMS AND THIS IS PROBABLY THE NEXT STEP FOR YOU TO SEE IF YOU HAVE A ROOT KIT ON THERE. ROOT KIT REVEALER IS FREE FROM MICROSOFT. IT WAS WRITTEN BY MARC RUSSINOVICH AT SYSINTERNALS. WHAT THIS DOES IS IT REPLACES THE WINDOWS FILE SYSTEM WITH ITS OWN FILE SYSTEM AND THEREBY BYPASSING THE ROOT KIT SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT ROOT SOFTWARE IS ON THERE AND IF THERE IS SOME ON THERE THEN YOU SHOULD BE AFRAID BECAUSE THEY'VE GOTTEN VERY SERIOUS ABOUT GETTING ON YOUR SYSTEM AND STAYING THERE. 8AVG NOW MAKES A FREE ROOT KIT SOLUTION AS WELL. IT'S free.grs.oft.com AND IF YOU LOOK ON THE LEFT, FREE ANTI-ROOT KIT. SAME IDEA, IT'S FREE DOWNLOAD IT'LL GO THROUGH YOUR SYSTEM AND LOOK FOR ROOT KITS AND IF IT FINDS ANY, THIS ONE ACTUALLY REMOVES THEM. ALL THESE THINGS ARE KIND OF HARDCORE ANTI-MALWARE TOOLS BUT I TELL YOU THE BOTTOM LINE IS ONCE YOU GET SOMETHING LIKE THIS ON YOUR SYSTEM, IT'S DARN HARD TO GET RID OF IT.
Cole: THAT'S WHY I WAS SECURITY PARANOID IN THE FIST PLACE.
Leo Laporte: I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU GOT SOMETHING. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW YOU GOT IT?
Cole: I HAVE NO CLUE TO BE HONEST BECAUSE I DON'T USE IE7 EXCEPT FOR EMAILS.
Leo Laporte: WELL MAYBE YOU GOT BIT BY ANIMATED CURSOR FLAW THAT WAS IN XP AND VISTA. JUST A LITTLE WHILE AGO, MICROSOFT DID AN EMERGENCY PATCH FOR THEM. AND THAT ONE YOU WOULD GET JUST BY READING AN EMAIL, EVEN IN FIREFOX YOU CAN GET BIT BY IT. IF YOU WENT TO A BAD WEBSITE IN FIREFOX YOU WOULD GET THIS INSTALLED ON YOUR SYSTEM. IT ALLOWED MALICIOUS WEBSITE TO PUT ANY SOFTWARE THEY LIKE ON YOUR SYSTEM AND FREQUENTLY WHAT THAT WOULD BE A ROOT KIT PLUS SOME SPYWARE SOFTWARE SO THAT COULD BE VERY WELL WHAT'S HAPPENED. I'M SORRY THIS IS ALL HAPPENED TO YOU. BUT THERE IS MY BEST...THE BEST TOOLS I KNOW OF. WE'RE GOING TO SEARCH FOR ROOT KITS ON THIS SYSTEM JUST TO SEE IF WE HAVE ANY. THE BEST TOOLS I KNOW OF TO FIND OUT ABOUT THESE PROGRAMS...ONCE YOU GET BIT, THE ONLY WAY TO GET SURE IS TO ERASE THE HARD DRIVE AND START OVER. I HATE TO HAVE YOU DO THAT.
Cole: THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO AVOID.
Leo Laporte: I KNOW COLE, DON'T BLAME YOU.
Cole: 100 SOMETHING GIG IS SOMETIMES I USE REGULARLY.
Leo Laporte: WELL ROOT KIT REVEALER, AVG'S ANTI-ROOT KIT, CHECK THERE AND USE HIJACKTHIS. NOW IF IT'S BEEN ROOTED HIJACKTHIS WILL NOT SHOW YOU ANYTHING, THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF A ROOT KIT, IT HIDES THE PRESENCE OF THIS SOFTWARE FROM EVERYBODY.
Cole: I JUST DOWNLOADED AVG ANTI-ROOT KIT AND INSTALLED IT.
Leo Laporte: GOOD, RUN THAT. LET ME KNOW WHAT HAPPENS. THANKS COLE. GOOD LUCK. I FEEL BAD FOR YOU. IT'S HAPPENING TO ALL OF US, KIND OF A PROBLEM WITH WINDOWS. IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS I'M HOPEFUL THAT WINDOWS VISTA WILL BE MORE SECURE AND SO FAR IT LOOKS PRETTY GOOD. HEY THE GUY WHO DID MY MUG IS HERE. HOWIE WOO, HE'S GOING TO SHOW US HOW HE DOES DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION WITH A COMPUTER TO MAKE SUCH GREAT ILLUSTRATIONS AS THIS. AND MORE OF YOUR CALLS COMING UP, RIGHT AFTER THIS. STAY RIGHT HERE. [Commercial]
Leo Laporte: WELCOME BACK TO THE LAB. I'M RUNNING THIS ROOT KIT PROGRAM FROM AVG ON HERE. I'LL BE SCARED IF I FIND ONE ON HERE. IT'S TERRIFYING. IT'S A FRESH, BRAND NEW INSTALL. BUT IT IS KIND OF...WHAT'S REALLY SCARY IS THAT SPYWARE AUTHORS ARE STARTING TO USE SUCH ADVANCED HACKER TECHNIQUES AS ROOT KITS TO KEEP PEOPLE FROM DISCOVERING THEM. THAT'S REALLY BAD NEWS. IT'S A REAL ESCALATION IN THE WAR AGAINST MALWARE. ALL WE CAN DO IS GET BETTER TOOLS AND DO OUR BEST TO FIGHT IT. LET'S GET ANOTHER CALL ON THE AIR. KATE ABRAHAM WHO DO WE HAVE?
Kate Abraham: OUR LAST CALL OF THE DAY IS PAUL AND HE'S FROM THE GOLD COAST IN QUEENSLAND.
Leo Laporte: WONDERFUL, HELLO PAUL HOW ARE YOU?
Paul: I'M GOOD.
Leo Laporte: HOW ARE THINGS DOWN UNDER?
Paul: GOOD. I LOVE WATCHING YOUR SHOW. I'VE BEEN WATCHING IT EVER SINCE TECH T.V. [Pop captions up]
Leo Laporte: THAT'S FANTASTIC. YOU WATCH US ON THE HOW TO NETWORK.
Paul: YEAH.
Leo Laporte: THAT'S WONDERFUL. I'M SO GLAD YOU WATCH. [Pop captions down]
Leo Laporte: WE WERE ON IN AUSTRALIA, TECH T.V. WAS ON FOR LIKE THREE MONTHS AND THEN IT DIED SO I'M REALLY GLAD WE COULD GET BACK DOWN THERE. WE HAVE SUCH GREAT FANS DOWN THERE SO IT'S REALLY NICE TO TALK TO YOU. WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP YOU WITH YOUR COMPUTING WOES.
Paul: WINDOWS VISTA, I'VE BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS, ISSUES STUFF LIKE THAT.
Leo Laporte: THAT'S TOO BAD. IS IT A NEWER MACHINE OR AN OLDER MACHINE?
Paul: IT'S AN [indistinct] 2600. ONE GIG OF RAM, 200 GIG HARD DRIVE, MIND YOU THEY ARE PARTITIONED.
Leo Laporte: THAT DOESN'T MATTER. SO FAR YOU'RE DESCRIBING A MACHINE THAT'S PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF WINDOWS VISTA. LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT YOUR VIDEO CARD.
Paul: THAT'S WHAT ADVISORY TOLD ME. YOU KNOW HOW YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT FREE FILES FOR THESE PROGRAMS?
Leo Laporte: YEAH?
Paul: THAT'S A GOOD FREE FILE TO HAVE.
Leo Laporte: YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE VISTA COMPATIBILITY CHECKER FROM MICROSOFT. ALTHOUGH I'VE TALKED TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE USED THIS AND ITS SAID TO THEM UNEQUIVOCALLY DON'T INSTALL VISTA. [Pop captions up]
Leo Laporte: AND THEY'VE TOLD ME THEIR SPECS AND I SAID GO AHEAD AND INSTALL IT AND IT'S WORKED FINE. I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S 100% RELIABLE. [Pop captions down]
Leo Laporte: ON THE OTHER HAND, I WOULD THINK THAT IF IT ERRED, IT WOULD ERR ON THE SIDE OF RECOMMENDING VISTA SINCE IT IS MICROSOFT'S OWN BUT MAYBE THEY DON'T WANT TO GET THE TECH SUPPORT CALLS. SO YOU RAN THE VISTA COMPATIBILITY CHECKER AND--
Paul: AND IT SAYS IT WORKS FINE. I RECKON YOU SHOULD DO THAT ON THE SHOW.
Leo Laporte: I'M GOING TO DOWNLOAD IT RIGHT NOW AND SHOW EVERYONE WHERE IT IS. AND HAVE YOU HAD ANY TROUBLE RUNNING VISTA OR IS EVERYTHING GOING OK?
Paul: I HAVEN'T TRIED IT YET.
Leo Laporte: I SEE. WELL IF IT SAYS YOU'RE ALRIGHT, I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO BE ALRIGHT. EVERYTHING YOU'VE DESCRIBED SO FAR IS OKAY. OH GOOD, NO ROOT KITS ON MY SYSTEM! OH YEAH! THANK YOU ANTI ROOT KIT. SO VISTA COMPATIBILITY CHECKER IS FREE FROM MICROSOFT. I WOULD SAY IF YOU HAVE RUN IT AND IT SAYS IT'S OKAY, YOU HAVE LATE MODEL HARDWARE AND YOU DON'T HAVE A LOT OF NEW SOFTWARE, AND THAT'S REALLY WHERE YOU CAN GET INTO TROUBLE IS WITH THE SOFTWARE AND THAT CHECKER DOES NOT CHECK YOUR APPLICATIONS, IT CHECKS YOUR HARDWARE AND YOUR DRIVERS. BUT IT SAYS YOU'RE OKAY AND YOU'RE WILLING TO GO THROUGH A LITTLE PAIN, I THINK VISTA IS A WORTHWHILE INSTALL. I HAVE TO SAY IF XP IS RUNNING FINE FOR YOU ON OLDER HARDWARE, AND YOU DON'T HAVE ANY SECURITY ISSUES, YOU DON'T HAVE A LOT OF ROOT KITS OR SPYWARE, I AT THIS POINT, I WOULD PROBABLY STAY WITH XP UNTIL MAYBE EARLY FALL, LATE SUMMER. BY THEN ANYTHING ...IT'S GOING TO GIVE THE MANUFACTURERS ENOUGH TIME TO MAKE THEIR SOFTWARE WORK WITH VISTA, TO MAKE THEIR DRIVERS WORK WITH VISTA. AND BY THEN...I THINK VISTA IS AN IMPROVEMENT, SEAN I THINK YOU AGREE WITH ON THIS ADVICE--
Sean Carruthers: DEFINITELY.
Leo Laporte: IT'S AN IMPROVEMENT BUT IF XP IS WORKING STICK WITH IT.
Sean Carruthers: YEAH THERE'S NO SENSE OF GOING THROUGH A WHOLE PILE OF PAIN ESPECIALLY IF IT'S A MACHINE YOU REALLY RELY ON. IF YOU CAN'T STAND TO BE WITHOUT IT AND YOU THINK SOMETHING MIGHT GO WRONG AND YOUR LIFE WILL BECOME A PAIN THEN HOLD OFF.
Leo Laporte: ON THE OTHER HAND IF YOU'RE A HOBBYIST LIKE PAUL, IT'S SOMETHING YOU MIGHT WANT TO DO FOR FUN. I INSTALLED VISTA ON ANOTHER MACHINE AND I LOVE IT.
Sean Carruthers: EVEN IF IT'S A PROBLEM IT'S A GOOD PROJECT.
Leo Laporte: YEAH IT'S A PROJECT. THINK OF IT AS A PROJECT. I'LL SHOW YOU A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT I REALLY LIKE IN VISTA. FOR INSTANCE THE NEW START MENU. WHEN YOU CLICK THE START MENU YOU NOTICE THERE'S A TEXT ENTRY BOX. YOU CAN TYPE THE FIRST FEW LETTERS OF AN APPLICATION. I'M ALWAYS INTERESTED IN RELIABILITY. I'M GOING TO TYPE THE FIRST FEW LETTERS OF RELIABILITY AND THERE IT IS, IT POPS UP, THE RELIABILITY AND PERFORMANCE MONITOR. THIS IS ANOTHER FEATURE I REALLY LIKE OF THE NEW VISTA. YOU CAN TAKE A LOOK AT THE PERFORMANCE MONITOR AND THE RELIABILITY MONITOR. AND THAT'S WHAT I'M REALLY MOST INTERESTED IN. YOU'LL SEE WHERE ALL THE CRASHES ARE. IT STARTS AT 10 AND GOES DOWN. WE'RE IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE 8.36 IS VERY HIGH. IT LOOKS LIKE WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF SERIOUS ERRORS BUT NO SYSTEM CRASHES AND THAT'S KIND OF FUN. IF YOU'VE BEEN RUNNING VISTA FOR A LITTLE WHILE, TAKE A LOOK AT THAT, IT'S KIND OF FUN. THERE'S A LOT OF NICE FEATURES IN VISTA. I THINK MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE USER ACCESS CONTROL, THAT'S THAT LITTLE PASSWORD REQUEST WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO INSTALL SOFTWARE. THAT REALLY KEEPS PEOPLE FROM DOING THINGS TO THEIR SYSTEM THAT COULD BE DAMAGING. SO ALL IN ALL, VISTA'S A BIG IMPROVEMENT. IT TAKES A LOT OF HARDWARE. IT'S NOT FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH ALL OLD SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE BUT IT IS A BIG IMPROVEMENT AND I THINK IT'S WORTH UPGRADING TOO I JUST WOULDN'T DO IT YET. I WOULD WAIT A LITTLE WHILE. IF YOU CAN STAND A LITTLE MORE XP, MAYBE THIS FALL WHEN EVERYBODY'S HAD A CHANCE TO UPDATE, IT'LL BE A BETTER TIME TO DO IT. RYAN YEWELL IS HERE. HE IS Mr. YEWELL'S JEWELS. HE SOLVES THE PROBLEM OF WHAT OPERATING SYSTEM TO USE BY RUNNING A MAC AND EVERYTHING ELSE. YOU'VE GOT XP, YOU'VE GOT VISTA, IN FACT YOU'RE RUNNING XP RIGHT NOW.
Ryan Yewell: I'VE EVEN TOYED WITH THE IDEA OF RUNNING AN EMULATOR WITHIN AN EMULATOR. [Pop captions up]
Leo Laporte: NO DON'T RYAN! THE WORLD MIGHT IMPLODE IF YOU DO THAT. [Pop captions down]
Leo Laporte: RYAN'S GOT A FREE PROGRAM FOR US TODAY, WHAT'S THIS? [Pop captions up]
Ryan Yewell: IT'S CALLED INKSCAPE AND FOR LINUX, MAC AND WINDOWS SO IT'S CAUGHT EVERYTHING COVERED AND IT'S A VECTOR BASED EDITOR AND IT'S FREE. IT'S ABSOLUTELY FREE. [Pop captions down]
Leo Laporte: SO IT'S LIKE ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR.
Ryan Yewell: EXACTLY. THE BEST WAY TO DESCRIBE VECTOR BASED IS I'M GOING TO CLICK ON THIS LITTLE LINE HERE AND IT'S GOING TO MOVE THIS LINE AND IT ACTUALLY MOVES IT AS A LINE. IT'S NOT SO MUCH PIXELS AS IT'S ACTUAL LINES.
Leo Laporte: IT'S A BEZIER CURVE, THINGS LIKE THAT.
Ryan Yewell: THERE'S A LOT OF COOL THINGS ABOUT THIS PROGRAM BUT VECTOR BASED DRAWINGS IS THAT WHEN YOU TAKE SOMETHING AND YOU SCALE, BECAUSE IT'S USING LINES AND NOT PIXELS, YOU CAN MAKE SOMETHING REALLY BIG AND IT KEEPS THE ORIGINAL SHAPE, THE ORIGINAL CURVES. THIS PROGRAM IS REALLY POWERFUL. I'M NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO COVER EVEN A TENTH--
Leo Laporte: THIS IS FREE?
Ryan Yewell: IT'S ABSOLUTELY FREE. WHEN YOU CAN IMPORT THINGS YOU CAN EVEN IMPORT... IF YOU LOOK AT THIS LIST HERE, IT'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE HARD TO SEE BUT SO MANY DIFFERENT FILE FORMATS. YOU CAN EXPORT DIFFERENT FILE FORMATS. YOU CAN DO EFFECTS. I'M NOT AN ARTIST SO I CAN'T DO THIS PROGRAM JUSTICE BUT YOU GO THROUGH ALL THE MENUS AND THERE'S SO MANY THINGS GOING ON. I JUST SAY CHECK IT OUT IF YOU'RE AN ARTIST AND YOU WANT TO LOOK INTO VECTOR BASED DRAWINGS, ABSOLUTELY FREE.
Leo Laporte: INKSCAPE.
Ryan Yewell: INKSCAPE.
Leo Laporte: AND IT'S OPEN SOURCE. WINDOWS, MAC AND LINUX.
Ryan Yewell: ALL PLATFORMS.
Leo Laporte: I LIKE THAT TOO.
Ryan Yewell: I LOVE THOSE ONES.
Leo Laporte: WE HAVE A LINK IN THE SHOW NOTES RIGHT? [Pop captions up]
Ryan Yewell: WE DO labwithleo.com, CHECK OUT YEWELL'S JEWELS AND IT'LL BE IN THERE. [Pop captions down]
Leo Laporte: THERE'S LOTS OF YEWELL'S JEWELS IN THERE AND THERE ARE MORE ALL THE TIME. [Pop captions up]
Leo Laporte: I LOVE IT! THESE THINGS ARE FREE. FREE I TELL YA! COMING UP HOWIE WOO WITH FREE ADVICE ON DRAWING FOR YOU. STAY RIGHT HERE BUT FIRST A CHANCE TO TAKE OUR DAILY QUIZ. [Pop captions down]
Leo Laporte: OUR QUIZ QUESTION, OUR QUICK QUIZ QUESTION. WHICH BAND WAS FIRST TO PERFORM LIVE ON THE INTERNET? WERE IT THE STONES, WERE IT THE DAMAGES, WERE IT EMINEMS...I LOVE CHOCOLATE BUT NOT WITH PEANUT OR WERE IT SEAN AND THE GARAGEBANDS. GO TO THE WEBSITE, GIVE US THE ANSWER. WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT WHEN THE LAB CONTINUES. [Commercial]
Leo Laporte: WELCOME BACK TO THE LAB. BEFORE THE BREAK WE ASKED WHICH BAND WAS THE FIRST TO PERFORM LIVE ON THE INTERNET? I'M THINKING IT WAS THE ROLLING STONES. BUT IT WASN'T IT WAS SEVERE TIRE DAMAGE. A GREAT ACT, RIGHT? HOWIE WOO, WHEN WE FIRST STARTED DOING THE LAB HERE IN VANCOUVER WE GOT A GREAT THANK YOU GIFT, A WELCOME GIFT FRO HOWIE WOO AT wootoons.com. HE DID SOME GREAT ILLUSTRATIONS, SOME MUGS AND NOW HOWIE'S HERE WITH US. STILL ILLUSTRATING AND I LEARNED SOMETHING VERY INTERESTING FROM HIM. HE'S GOING TO SHOW US HOW TO USE DIGITAL TOOLS TO DO THE KIND OF ILLUSTRATIONS HE DOES AND HE SAYS IT'S THIS BIG PENCIL-- NO? IT'S NOT THIS BIG... I'M KIDDING. HOWIE DIDN'T GO TO SCHOOL TO STUDY THIS. HOW DID YOU GET STARTED DOING THIS KIND OF ILLUSTRATION?
Howie Woo: I'VE ALWAYS DOODLED IN CLASS.
Leo Laporte: YOU LIKE TO DRAW. [Pop captions up]
Howie Woo: I LOVE DOODLING, ESPECIALLY DOODLING THE TEACHERS WHEN I SHOULD BE PAYING ATTENTION.
Leo Laporte: BUT YOU SAID YOU'RE NOT A NATURAL FREE HAND ARTIST? [Pop captions down]
Howie Woo: NO, THE TIMES I DRAW ON PENCIL I'VE ALWAYS BEEN JEALOUS OF PEOPLE WHO WERE NATURAL DOODLERS, ILLUSTRATORS.
Leo Laporte: ME TOO.
Howie Woo: I BROUGHT ALONG THE ROUGH I DREW OF YOU AND ANDY--
Leo Laporte: OH YEAH YOU DID THIS FOR US IN CALL FOR HELP.
Howie Woo: EVEN WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT AND I LOOK AT THAT, IT'S PRETTY ROUGH. I STILL DON'T LIKE IT. THAT'S WHY I KIND OF GAVE UP ON AN ILLUSTRATION CAREER EARLY ON UNTIL I SAW JEREMY SUTTON ON THE SCREENSAVERS DRAWING YOU AND I THOUGHT THAT'S SOMETHING I SHOULD LEARN BECAUSE MAYBE--
Leo Laporte: SO WATCHING SCREENSAVERS INSPIRED YOU TO SIT DOWN WITH A TABLET AND SOME SOFTWARE AND SEE IF THE COMPUTER COULD HELP YOU DO THIS. [Pop captions up]
Leo Laporte: AND BY THE WAY, THESE ROUGHS MAY BE ROUGH BUT LET ME TELL YOU THE ILLUSTRATIONS CAME OUT GREAT. YOU'RE REALLY GOOD AT THIS. SHOW US HOW YOU WORK. YOU USE TWO DIFFERENT PROGRAMS. [Pop captions down]
Howie Woo: I USE COREL PAINTER.
Leo Laporte: THAT'S WHAT JEREMY USES.
Howie Woo: THAT'S RIGHT. IT'S AN ILLUSTRATION PROGRAM THAT SIMULATES NATURAL DRAWING TOOLS LIKE PASTELS, PAINTBRUSHES, CHALK. I HAPPEN TO LIKE THE PENS THAT ARE INCLUDED.
Leo Laporte: THIS LOOKS LIKE MAYBE YOU DID IT IN PENCIL OR MAYBE INK PEN.
Howie Woo: THIS IS THE ROUGH THAT I JUST SHOWED YOU.
Leo Laporte: OH YOU SCAN THAT IN.
Howie Woo: I USE IT AS A GUIDE, AN UGLY GUIDE AND I KNOCK THAT DOWN TO 30% AND FROM THERE I JUST USE IT AS A STARTING POINT. I USE THE PENS THAT COME WITH IT.
Leo Laporte: YOUR NIECE IS HERE AND SHE SAYS THE SECRET TO HOWIE'S DRAWING IS THE UNDO KEY.
Howie Woo: OH YEAH.
Leo Laporte: LOOK AT ALL THE UNDOING YOU'RE DOING. SO YOU DRAW, UNDO, DRAW, UNDO, DRAW UNTIL YOU GET JUST THE WAY YOU WANT IT TO FEEL.
Howie Woo: IT'S A LITTLE OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE--
Leo Laporte: THAT'S BY THE WAY YOUR GIRLFRIEND, YOUR MOM AND YOUR NIECE.
Howie Woo: YOUR NIECE IS HERE TO HECKLE ME HERE TO.
Leo Laporte: UNDO, UNCLE HOWIE IS DOING AN UNDO! THAT'S REALLY INTERESTING, YOU KEEP DOING IT UNTIL YOU FEEL LIKE THAT LINE MATCHES WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.
Howie Woo: THAT'S RIGHT, THE QUALITY OF THE LINE WHICH IS SOMETHING I COULDN'T DO WITH A PENCIL. IT WAS A MESS, A DARK BLURRY MESS. [Pop captions up]
Leo Laporte: I CAN SEE YOU DO IT WITH THE ROUGHS TOO, YOU'RE SKETCHING, SKETCHING SO YOU GET THE FEEL THAT YOU WANT BUT NOW YOU CAN MAKE THAT REAL.
Howie Woo: THAT'S RIGHT, STARTING POINT. [Pop captions down]
Leo Laporte: SO YOU'RE USING A BLACK INK--
Howie Woo: YEAH A BLACKING PEN. WITH COREL PAINTER YOU CAN CHOOSE A WHOLE BUNCH OF THINGS FROM PASTELS TO CHALK. BUT I HAPPEN TO FALL FOR THE PENS WHICH I'VE CUSTOMIZED A LITTLE BIT. SO ANYWAY THAT'S HOW I WOULD WORK AND THIS IS EVENTUALLY WHAT I CAME UP WITH WHEN I FIRST SUBMITTED THIS DRAWING TO YOU WHEN YOU WERE ON THE PREVIOUS SHOW.
Leo Laporte: LOOK AT THAT, THAT REALLY CAME OUT GREAT. NOW THE ONES THAT YOU'RE SENDING US ARE COLOURED. SO YOU GET THE LINE FIRST...
Howie Woo: YUP, FROM THERE I GO TO PHOTOSHOP, I FEEL LIKE I HAVE BETTER CONTROL OVER THE LAYERS IN PHOTOSHOP. FROM THERE I WOULD FOR INSTANCE, I PUT EACH COLOUR ON ITS OWN LAYER JUST IN CASE A CLIENT DECIDES TO CHANGE THE SHIRT COLOUR ALL OF A SUDDEN, AT THE LAST MINUTE. IT'S A LITTLE MORE FLEXIBLE. [Pop captions up]
Leo Laporte: AND WE SAY "CLIENT" BECAUSE HOWIE NOW MAKES THIS HIS PROFESSION. [Pop captions down]
Leo Laporte: HE'S GONE FROM JUST A FEW YEARS AGO SEEING IT ON THE SCEENSAVERS ON T.V. AND NOW DOING ILLUSTRATIONS PROFESSIONALLY. THESE ARE SOME COVERS HE DID. THIS IS FROM NO MAGAZINE, IT'S A TRIBUTE TO THE OLD STYLE BLACK AND WHITE EARLY DAYS OF FILM CARTOONIST. I LOVE THAT. YOU ALSO DO STUFF FOR YES MAG. YOU'RE MAKING A LIVING DOING THIS KIND OF STUFF.
Howie Woo: YES.
Leo Laporte: I'M NOT SURPRISED, YOU'RE REALLY TALENTED.
Howie Woo: I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A FAN OF YOUR SHOW, LISTENING TO PODCATS WHILE I'M WORKING.
Leo Laporte: YOU CAN COLOUR-- HOW DO YOU GET THAT WITHIN THE LINES? IT DOES THAT AUTOMATICALLY.
Howie Woo: YEAH I SELECTED IT AND THEN I EXPAND THE SELECTION A TINY BIT BY ONE OR TWO TINY PIXELS. FROM THERE I PICK A DARKER SHADE--
Leo Laporte: I'M GOING TO HOOK YOU UP WITH DICK DE BARTOLO, I THINK MAD MAGAZINE NEEDS YOU. YOU HAVE THAT STYLE, THAT REALISTIC BUT COMICKY, KIND OF FUN STYLE.
Howie Woo: THIS IS REALLY ROUGH BUT THIS IS BASICALLY WHAT I WOULD BE DOING, SHADING, DARKENING, AND EVENTUALLY...
Leo Laporte: HOW LONG WOULD IT TAKE YOU?
Howie Woo: THIS IS WHAT TAKES ME QUITE A WHILE, IT'S THE SAME OBSESSIVE THING, I DO, UNDO. MIRACULOUSLY, ALL THAT UNDOING AFTER I FLATTEN IT...
Leo Laporte: LOOK AT THAT, IT LOOKS GREAT.
Howie Woo: I'VE FLATTENED IT USING BASIC COLOURS AND AFTER THAT, I SHADE IT WHICH LOOKS LIKE THIS.
Leo Laporte: WHICH GIVES IT THAT REALISTIC LOOK. HOWIE WOO, wootoons.com HE'S THE GREATEST. [Pop captions up]
Leo Laporte: IT JUST SHOWS YOU WHAT DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY CAN DO TO TAKE SOMETHING YOU NEVER THOUGHT YOU COULD DO IN REAL LIFE AND NOW YOU'RE DOING IT. [Pop captions down]
Leo Laporte: NOT ONLY DOING IT BUT SUCCEEDING WILDLY AT IT.
Howie Woo: I WAS INSPIRED BY YOU AND JEREMY SUTTON SO HOPEFULLY THERE'S SOME GUY OUT THERE--
Leo Laporte: WATCHING YOU, INSPIRED BY WOO. I LIKE IT. WE'LL COME BACK WITH A FINAL WORD, RIGHT AFTER THIS. STAY HERE. [Commercial]
Leo Laporte: HOWIE'S BEEN WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES THE WHOLE SHOW. YOU DID A LITTLE CARTOON IN REAL TIME. SO IT DOESN'T TAKE TOO LONG.
Howie Woo: NOT TOO BAD. I'M IN A PANIC BUT THIS IS BABY LEO.
Leo Laporte: WE CAN PUT THIS ON THE WEBSITE. BABY LEO, WAH WAH. [Pop captions up]
Leo Laporte: THANK HOWIE. THANK YOU FOR BRINGING YOUR FAMILY IN. IS THIS KAYLA, THE NIECE WHO SAYS--
Howie Woo: WHAT DO YOU SAY?
UNDO, UNDO UNCLE WOO!
Leo Laporte: [Laughing] HE'S THE UNDO KING. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. WE WANT TO REMIND YOU IF YOU WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW, WE INVITE YOU TO GO TO THE WEBSITE labwithleo.com AND FILL OUT THAT FORM AND ASK THAT QUESTION SO YOU CAN TALK TO KATE AND GET ON THE SHOW. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE, WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME ON THE LAB. [Pop captions down]
Leo Laporte: BYE-BYE. [Pop captions down] [Pop captions up] CLOSED CAPTIONING PERFORMED BY: BROADCAST CAPTIONING & CONSULTING SERVICES INC. www.closedcaptioning.com [Pop captions down]