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The Askbag Strikes Back
#279 | 28:02 |
Monday June 27, 2011
Lab Rats
Monday June 27, 2011
We all have questions about technology...why not submit them to butterscotch.com's Ask a Question feature? Andy and Sean dip into the questions and answer a few, including ones on iTunes cleanup, Android keyboard replacements, RAM upgrades, running Windows on the Mac, and getting your Wi-Fi Kindle onto the network.
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Mobile Show Notes
Question: I have many duplicates of music on iTunes. Way too many to manually edit erase each song. I purchased the Tune-Up application, Its cool but they haven't released deduper tool yet. I can't believe Apple allows you to see all duplicates, this seems like a tease.
Answer: A great way to clean your Mac of duplicate files is a program called Find Duplicate Files from Araxis.
It's a simple-to-use program that scans your hard drive for any (and all – not just music) duplicate files. The results can be managed in several ways; remove all, remove selected files, even preview files from within the program.
Download Araxis here: labratsonline.com/fdf
Question: Does anyone like SlideIT Keyboard for Android? Can you turn it on & off? Can you uninstall it?
Answer: SlideIT Keyboard is an free-to-try/payed add-on for the Android smartphone OS. It can replace the default keyboard with a more intuitive one. SlideIT offers many benefits over the traditional Android offering including support for multiple languages, shortcut options, predictive text and dictionary customization.
It's key feature is the ability to trace along the keyboard to spell out words. For more information on SlideIT and how it works, check out Lab Rats 275.
Download it here: Get it: labratsonline.com/slideit
As for turning it on/off and uninstalling:
To turn off SlideIT, go to SETTINGS > LANGUAGE & KEYBOARDS. From this menu choose ANDROID KEYBOARD or any other options you may have installed to shift the system away from SlideIT.
If you'd like to uninstall SlideIT, go to SETTINGS > APPLICATIONS > MANAGE APPLICATIONS > ALL. From here, look for the software you'd like to remove (in this case SlideIT). Tap the Application and hit UNINSTALL.
Question: I want to increase my memory from 1GB to 2GB. I have 1GB presently. I have two DIMM slots for memory but am using only one. The MFR web site indicates one "open DIMM slot". Does that mean it is not being used or that it has to be activated when a memory module is inserted?
Answer: As a primer on the subject, we recommend checking our our tutorial on RAM and how it works in your system. You can find that here: http://www.butterscotch.com/tutorial/Installing-Your-PCs-Memory
Regarding DIMM slots, using a Memory Advisory tool like the ones provided by Crucial.com or Kingston.com can be a great aid in finding out what your system is capable of. From there you can make a determination as to what type of upgrade you can do.
Question: I want to buy a Apple Mac Book Pro 17" can I load Windows 7 on it?
Answer: You sure can and there are several options.
Firstly, Apple has a built in method called Boot Camp. Because Apple computers are now Intel-based, there pretty-much identical to their PC cousins, meaning virtual any piece of software can be install on it (with a little help of course). Boot Camp assists you in this set up by creating a partition for your Windows content, and then helping you installing your genuine copy of Windows onto your Mac. It should be noted that this process creates two separate OS's on your system that CANNOT be run at the same time. Meaning, if you want to go into Windows, you have to boot into its partition by holding down the OPTION key when booting up your Mac.
Learn more about Boot Camp here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3777
Secondly, there are hardware virtualization programs like Parallels and VMWare that allow you to install Windows (or other OSs) and run them alongside OSX. Likewise, the integration allows for file transfers between the two operating systems and other benefits.
Learn more about hardware virtualization here.
Question: I just bought a WiFi enabled Kindle. I'm unable to set up a link to my home internet connection because DHCP is not enabled. I'm trying to find how to enable that on my NetGear router. I really do not know what DHCP is. Can you explain this please? Thanks!
Answer: in a nutshell, DHCP acts like a switch board for your local router, keeping track of all computers that have recently been connected to your network. More information on DHCP can be found here.
As for enabling DHCP on your router, the best method is to consult the device's manual. If you don't have one (or have misplaced it) you should be able to find it on the manufacture's website.
On the Kindle side, to turn the device's wireless functionality on or off, follow these steps: Go to the home screen and press the Menu button. When the menu comes up looks for the wireless connectivity section. From there you'll be able to turn the device on or off.
Answer: A great way to clean your Mac of duplicate files is a program called Find Duplicate Files from Araxis.
It's a simple-to-use program that scans your hard drive for any (and all – not just music) duplicate files. The results can be managed in several ways; remove all, remove selected files, even preview files from within the program.
Download Araxis here: labratsonline.com/fdf
Question: Does anyone like SlideIT Keyboard for Android? Can you turn it on & off? Can you uninstall it?
Answer: SlideIT Keyboard is an free-to-try/payed add-on for the Android smartphone OS. It can replace the default keyboard with a more intuitive one. SlideIT offers many benefits over the traditional Android offering including support for multiple languages, shortcut options, predictive text and dictionary customization.
It's key feature is the ability to trace along the keyboard to spell out words. For more information on SlideIT and how it works, check out Lab Rats 275.
Download it here: Get it: labratsonline.com/slideit
As for turning it on/off and uninstalling:
To turn off SlideIT, go to SETTINGS > LANGUAGE & KEYBOARDS. From this menu choose ANDROID KEYBOARD or any other options you may have installed to shift the system away from SlideIT.
If you'd like to uninstall SlideIT, go to SETTINGS > APPLICATIONS > MANAGE APPLICATIONS > ALL. From here, look for the software you'd like to remove (in this case SlideIT). Tap the Application and hit UNINSTALL.
Question: I want to increase my memory from 1GB to 2GB. I have 1GB presently. I have two DIMM slots for memory but am using only one. The MFR web site indicates one "open DIMM slot". Does that mean it is not being used or that it has to be activated when a memory module is inserted?
Answer: As a primer on the subject, we recommend checking our our tutorial on RAM and how it works in your system. You can find that here: http://www.butterscotch.com/tutorial/Installing-Your-PCs-Memory
Regarding DIMM slots, using a Memory Advisory tool like the ones provided by Crucial.com or Kingston.com can be a great aid in finding out what your system is capable of. From there you can make a determination as to what type of upgrade you can do.
Question: I want to buy a Apple Mac Book Pro 17" can I load Windows 7 on it?
Answer: You sure can and there are several options.
Firstly, Apple has a built in method called Boot Camp. Because Apple computers are now Intel-based, there pretty-much identical to their PC cousins, meaning virtual any piece of software can be install on it (with a little help of course). Boot Camp assists you in this set up by creating a partition for your Windows content, and then helping you installing your genuine copy of Windows onto your Mac. It should be noted that this process creates two separate OS's on your system that CANNOT be run at the same time. Meaning, if you want to go into Windows, you have to boot into its partition by holding down the OPTION key when booting up your Mac.
Learn more about Boot Camp here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3777
Secondly, there are hardware virtualization programs like Parallels and VMWare that allow you to install Windows (or other OSs) and run them alongside OSX. Likewise, the integration allows for file transfers between the two operating systems and other benefits.
Learn more about hardware virtualization here.
Question: I just bought a WiFi enabled Kindle. I'm unable to set up a link to my home internet connection because DHCP is not enabled. I'm trying to find how to enable that on my NetGear router. I really do not know what DHCP is. Can you explain this please? Thanks!
Answer: in a nutshell, DHCP acts like a switch board for your local router, keeping track of all computers that have recently been connected to your network. More information on DHCP can be found here.
As for enabling DHCP on your router, the best method is to consult the device's manual. If you don't have one (or have misplaced it) you should be able to find it on the manufacture's website.
On the Kindle side, to turn the device's wireless functionality on or off, follow these steps: Go to the home screen and press the Menu button. When the menu comes up looks for the wireless connectivity section. From there you'll be able to turn the device on or off.
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