Chris Pirillo » tech-tv

Windows Vista Stories

Chris — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 01:25:57 +0000

Windows Vista Stories is a post from Chris Pirillo

Chris | Live Tech Support | Video Help | Add to iTunes

http://live.pirillo.com/ – A few friends joined me live to discuss their opinions and thoughts about Windows Vista. We discuss issues, as well as what we each feel should be done to improve.

Four of my friends joined me for this discussion: Kat, SC_Thor, Wirelesspacket, and last but certainly not least… Datalore.

Everyone agrees that Vista was simply not ready for release when Microsoft let loose Vista on the general public. Unfortunately, we all also agree that it would take drastic overhauls to make Vista better.

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Automatic Login for Windows Vista

Chris — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 16:49:22 +0000

Automatic Login for Windows Vista is a post from Chris Pirillo

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http://live.pirillo.com/ – I decided to give Vista another go, and reinstalled it on my computer, along with SP1. Being a fresh install, I had to go through and set everything up the way I had it before, including the way Vista logs me in.

I want Vista to automatically log me in each time I start the computer up. I wasn’t sure how to do this, so I went to Google. One of the first hits I came across actually linked back to our Lockergnome.com blogging network. Thankfully, this isn’t so hard to do.

To open this in the UAC (or User Account Control) in Vista, go to the start/search area of Vista, and type in NETPLWIZ. Once you get there:

UNcheck the box next to “Users should enter a username and password to use this computer”, and then press OK.
Type the username and password for the user you want to automatically logon to Windows Vista when it boots up and press OK
Reboot the computer

It’s that simple. Vista will remember the username and password, and you won’t have to log in every time you boot the computer.

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Adobe Flash Privacy Settings

Chris — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 03:41:10 +0000

Adobe Flash Privacy Settings is a post from Chris Pirillo

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http://live.pirillo.com/ – If you’re watching this video, then you’re probably using Flash player. David wrote in wondering how to adjust the privacy settings, and whether his personal history is viewable by Adobe.

Adobe’s Flash Player is a widely used program that allows you to watch videos on any number of websites. It can also be used to play online games, as well.

You can easily check your Flash privacy settings by going to this video, or any online video, and right clicking on it. This will open up a small settings box, and from there you should click the “Advanced” tab. This will take you to Adobe’s site, where you can adjust your privacy settings, and view your history. On that page, it will straight out tell you that all information is stored locally… on YOUR machine… and not on their actual site. They do not access it for any reason, nor do they use it in any way, shape or form.

Instead of asking “who here uses Flash?”, the question of the day is… who doesn’t?

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Halo 3 Slayer

Chris — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 02:06:35 +0000

Halo 3 Slayer is a post from Chris Pirillo

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http://live.pirillo.com/ – You’ve seen me review the new Halo 3, and play the Oddballs custom game. This time, GamerAndy and I are going to try Slayer.

I received an advance copy of Halo 3 hanks to my friends at Edelman PR. I’ve already done a review on the game, and played Oddball .

I asked Andy if he’s tried Forge yet… he indicated he hadn’t, but thought it would be boring. Dude! Hardly! How cool is it when you blow things up, record it, play it back and freeze frame it… then take screenshots!?

Again in Slayer… just like with everything else on Halo 3 thus far… the graphics are just WOW. I keep using the word “astounding” over and over, but it truly is.

At least with Slayer, I died in vibrant color and detail! Who says I can’t be a true gamer? For those of you asking if you should get a PS3 or an XBOX360… just watch these videos, and decide for yourself.

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Halo 3 Oddball

Chris — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 01:41:09 +0000

Halo 3 Oddball is a post from Chris Pirillo

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http://live.pirillo.com/ – Watch as I play the custom game “Oddball” on my pre-release copy of Halo 3. I’m playing with my friend GamerAndy, and I got one point!

I received an advance copy of Halo 3 hanks to my friends at Edelman PR. I’ve already done a review on the game. Now I’m going to try out a couple of the custom games.

The active Camo is amazing. I continue to be astounded by the sheer beauty of the graphics in this game. Absolutely… amazing.

Oh yeah… and I didn’t lose!

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Halo 3 Sneak Peek

Chris — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 01:17:08 +0000

Halo 3 Sneak Peek is a post from Chris Pirillo

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http://live.pirillo.com/ – I was lucky to receive an advance copy of the new Halo 3 that is due out in a few days. I played it last night with some friends to test it out, and decided to do a short review today. In a nutshell, if you’re waiting for Halo 3, you won’t be disappointed.

Thanks to my friends at Edelman PR, I was able to get my hands on a perfectly legal advance copy of Halo 3. I know many people are anxious for the release, and will be standing in line for this game.

First, let me warn you that your disc may have a slight scratch on it like mine does. The little plastic thingie in the case doesn’t hold the disc in there very well. However, I am able to play the game with no problems at all.

Now… on to the good stuff! The graphics in this game are absolutely astounding!!! The detailing is amazing, and the “trash talk” on both sides is excellent. I have a feeling this will be the most popular Halo version yet.

I know, some of you want my gamertag. It’s Lockergnome. However… don’t waste your time. I’m more of a Tetris kind of guy. I enjoy playing this, I’m having a great time with the demo… but you can see me getting my rear kicked while I’m at it.

UPDATE ON SCRATCHED HALO 3 DISCS If you purchased a copy of Halo 3 and your disc is scratched, Microsoft will send you a free replacement .

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Helping Ponzi with her iPod

Chris — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 01:38:59 +0000

Helping Ponzi with her iPod is a post from Chris Pirillo

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http://live.pirillo.com/ – Ponzi purchased TV Shows from iTunes for her iPod, to watch on our flight to Germany. However, she tried to sync it with her Gateway, and ran into problems. Now she’s stuck not able to watch them, or even use the iPod.

One of our chatters suggested trying the new and free iPodViewer. iTunes allows you to copy MP3s from your computer to your iPod, and do everything but copy those MP3s back to your computer. But now with iPod Viewer, you can do just that! Just launch the application, import the songs from your iPod, select the songs you want to copy, choose where you want to copy the songs to, and transfer the files. So, of course, this is what we did.

Once this transfer is done… and it will take quite awhile… then we will basically wipe out the Gateway profile, and start all over. Voila! She’ll be able to watch her movies.

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Helping Ponzi with her MacBook Pro

Chris — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:41:08 +0000

Helping Ponzi with her MacBook Pro is a post from Chris Pirillo

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http://live.pirillo.com/ – Ponzi is having trouble getting everything installed that she will need for our trip to Germany. So, of course, I had to give her a hand!

I taught Ponzi several neat little tricks, such as just dragging and dropping onto the desktop, or into the Applications folder. She is having trouble with some Widgets, as well. Now, she know the handy little shortcut of “Command + Q” to close out of the program.

Somehow, we get from installing things on the MacBook Pro to problems with her iPod. Apparently, Ponzi decided to take a shortcut to get things to watch on the plane… and downloaded TV Shows from iTunes. Of course, that didn’t go as planned… and I find out not only won’t the iPod sync, it also is making a grinding noise! Stay tuned for the next video to see that conclusion!

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Fast Food Survey

Chris — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 04:01:07 +0000

Fast Food Survey is a post from Chris Pirillo

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http://live.pirillo.com/ – Some random guy called me tonight to give me a survey about different fast food and pizza restaurants. I had a BLAST messing with him. Just watch and see.

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Installing Linux in Windows

Chris — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 01:32:23 +0000

Installing Linux in Windows is a post from Chris Pirillo

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http://live.pirillo.com/ – After seeing my video where I installed Ubuntu on the computer I’m giving away to a lucky YouTube subscriber, Matt sent me a video showing how you can install Ubuntu onto Windows without overwriting your Windows Operating System.

Matt’s video tutorial is downright excellent. He walks you through using an application called Wubi. Wubi is being touted as “the easiest way to Linux”. It doesn’t run inside a virtual machine, nor does it overwrite your Windows Operating System. It is a slow install, yes. However, once it’s installed, it will show up in your “My Computer” folder, along with your C:\ drive, your Documents and Settings folder, etc. You’ll see one there named Wubi. If you decide Linux isn’t your style after all, you simply uninstall it much like a Windows program uninstalls. Looking for reasons you should use Wubi to install Ubuntu onto your computer? Here are some:

Wubi is Safe It does not require you to modify the partitions of your PC, or to use a different bootloader.
Wubi is Simple Just run the installer, no need to burn a CD.
Wubi is Discrete Wubi keeps most of the files in one folder, and If you do not like, you can simply uninstall it.
Wubi is Free Wubi (like Ubuntu) is free as in beer and as in freedom.

Thanks to Wubi, installing and trying out Ubuntu Linux for yourself is simple, and going back to only Windows is even easier. Why not give it a try yourself?

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What is Port Forwarding?

Chris — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 21:15:58 +0000

What is Port Forwarding? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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http://live.pirillo.com/ – Most people nowadays use Broadband Internet, which means they are always connected. Make sure you’re protected with a firewall. If you do have one, and you need to access something on your computer from another place, you can open a port… which is called Port Forwarding.

Any software that requires Internet access has a port assigned to it. The application uses this specific port to access what it needs to. For instance, if you use IRC, then you would normally connect to port 6667. Programs such as mIRC or Colloquy will ask you during setup which port to use. I recently did a video about using my iPhone to connect to IRC . In order to do this, I have to open the port and secure it with a password. I then use the iPhone to connect to that port on my Mac at home, and voila! I can chat.

Of course, if I try to connect, my router needs to know where to forward me. What machine on my network do I need? What specific port and application? This is where your router comes in handy. If you open up your router in your Control Panel, there will be a page about port forwarding to help you set it up.

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Latptop Theft Security Locks

Chris — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 20:47:59 +0000

Latptop Theft Security Locks is a post from Chris Pirillo

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http://live.pirillo.com/ – Aviator1616 wonders if there is a mechanism that will physically lock up a laptop… much like a bike chain would do. The good news is that there are such things, as well as their software theft deterrent counterparts.

Not long ago, I recorded a video about LoJack, which is a theft deterrent plan for laptops. As soon as I uploaded this one, I received emails telling me about similar products, namely Undercover for Macs, and The Laptop Lock (which is FREE) for Windows. Any of these programs provide excellent recovery rates.

For a physical device, sure. Many laptops have a little loop built right onto them where you can affix a lock or chain. If your laptop doesn’t have one of these, you can always purchase a slot adapter kit. Kensington has several different locking options for your laptop… and many other devices you may have. Yes, you’ll have to pay around $40.00 USD, but isn’t that a small price to pay in comparison to a several *thousand* dollar laptop?

Another idea is to simply have a sticker or sign. Use something like “This laptop is protected by LoJack”. Often, this is enough to deter many theives in the first place. They know that the laptop is somehow protected, and they will likely be caught and prosecuted. Therefore, they’ll likely look for another one to try and steal.

What other security devices or programs do you know of or use? I’m always interested in hearing what you have to say! Leave me a comment, or shoot me an email. Until then… E ya later!

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MAC Address Vendor Identification

Chris — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 04:06:10 +0000

MAC Address Vendor Identification is a post from Chris Pirillo

Chris | Live Tech Support | Video Help | Add to iTunes

http://live.pirillo.com/ – I recently purchased a new router… a Wireless N. I now have better signal, and my network is certainly flowing faster. I was looking at my router the other day, and saw that I had an unknown MAC address there. What?? Thankfully, I know how to discover the identity.

A MAC address is the short term for a Media Access Control address. Every device has one. It’s an identifier, so to speak. It is a number that acts like a name for a particular network adapter, so, for example, the network cards in two different computers will have different names, or MAC addresses, as would an Ethernet adapter and a wireless adapter in the same computer, and as would multiple network cards in a router.

Luckily, I knew there are websites that can help you figure out what the heck a particular MAC address belongs to. So, I copied down the MAC addy, and off I went to coffer.com. I typed in the MAC addy and voila! The site told me what vendor (manufacturer) this particular MAC address came from. Hmmm. Microsoft? What the…. ohhhhh, right! The XBOX360! Ponzi turned it on the other day and used it to watch a DVD. Therefore, it connected to the network. I went down and check the XBOX, and yep. That’s the offending device.

You can also spoof a MAC address if need be. Years ago I had a different ISP who only allowed one device on the network to access the internet. They knew I had no other choice, as I told them right up front. I manually spoofed my other MAC addresses to make them appear to be the same as the original computer. That way, everything on my network could still access the Internet. Being a home office kind of guy, I didn’t have much choice!

Be sure to stop by and visit us crazy people in the chat room, or drop me an email. I love hanging out with everyone, and I love to read your emails!

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Free Apps for USB Drives

Chris — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 03:30:48 +0000

Free Apps for USB Drives is a post from Chris Pirillo

Chris | Live Tech Support | Video Help | Add to iTunes

http://live.pirillo.com/ – A user writes in to ask if there are more apps they can put on a USB stick and run from there? YES! You can put more than just an email and a browser on a USB stick… including an entire operating system!

There are tons of apps that you can throw onto a USB stick and use it. Provided you have enough space on your USB stick, you can have several programs on there all at once.

Here are a few sites that list several of the apps available for use from a USB stick:

PortableApps.com Tagged as “Your Digital Life: Anywhere.” There is an excellent “new” feature along the right side.
Makeuseof.com Excellent site with a smaller listing of apps and tools.
Loosewire.typepad.com is a HUGE site, full of information and portable resources. Separated into easy-to-navigate categories, this comprehensive list even includes Security Programs, a complete VoIP package, and much more.

What other sites and suggestions do you have for our friend? As always, leave me a comment or shoot me an email.

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USB Power Through An Airplane’s Audio Jack

Chris — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 02:46:03 +0000

USB Power Through An Airplane’s Audio Jack is a post from Chris Pirillo

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http://live.pirillo.com/ – Ponzi and I leave for a trip to Germany on Saturday. I’ve been concerned about how I can get power for my devices while on the flight. Now, I have my answer.

Not long ago, I recorded a video showing off all my travel gear. These are devices, adapters and the like that go with me when I have to be on the road… and a few new ones bought for this trip. I’ve been confused as to how I would manage to charge anything though, while in transit.

Enter Inflight! Inflight USB Power Unit is a plug compatible with any standard USB charging cable. The Inflight USB Power unit plugs into the passenger seat audio jack and outputs regulated power to the attached USB charging cable/connector. Now, I can plug this sucker in to my audio jack and power up my PSP, my iPod, my phone… or any of my other devices I seriously can not live without!

This is why I think all devices should charge via a USB cable, if not natively then by an adapter. Wouldn’t it be great if new houses being built had little USB outlets in the wall, right next to electrical outlets? I’m telling ya, folks. This is the wave of the future.

SO COOL. Thanks so much for this advice. The $20 or $30 I just spent on this Inflight adapter is well worth the money, and will quickly become my favorite travel gadget of all!

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How to Handle Remote Tech Support

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT

Using GoToAssist is the easiest way to view and control another person's computer online. Use it to provide instant technical support to family, friends and customers. Start a session with just one click, and instantly connect with the other party.

Network Tools for Windows

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

You need these network tools, no matter which operating systems and networks you have to support. SolarWinds ipMonitor: Affordable Network Monitoring for SMBs. Get turnkey network, server and application availability monitoring with SolarWinds ipMonitor v9.0. This easy-to-use, reliable solution for SMBs delivers out-of-the-box availability monitoring so you always know exactly what's up with Active Directory, DNS, Exchange, FTP, Web, IMAP, MS SQL Server, and SMTP. Download your free trial today. Or, try their totally free tools! And, through 2/29, save 20% when you purchase ipMonitor 9.0.

Get Your Own Web Site

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

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Plus, as a friend of Chris Pirillo, enter code CHRIS7, that's C-H-R-I-S and the number 7, when you check out, and save an additional 10% on any order. Get your piece of the internet at GoDaddy.com.

VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either Parallels or VMware (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with VMware and/or Parallels.

Coupons for Online Shopping

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMT

This feed is fueled by Lockergnome Online Shopping and Coupon Codes

Before you shop next time, see if we have a coupon first.