For the show broadcast between May 3rd and May 9th, 2008
Benjamin and Nick had visitors!!! Some youth were touring the station with their teacher, and three of them joined Benjamin in the computer lab, and Nick lobbed all sorts of questions at them. Benjamin noted that they were, of course, "digital natives", having been immersed in computers and related technology from birth.
Apparently they were fairly savvy about staying safe, not giving personal information on the internet. They use the Internet for gaming, schoolwork, and the obligatory YouTube and MySpace references were made. Internet access speeds were a major topic as well, with one of the youth having access to FIOS at home... which caught Benjamin's ear!
The requests to Bill Gates were simple enough... improve IE to match up with Firefox and Opera, and more applications for business specific usage, like banking, real estate, and lawyers (which sounds like one of the youth has some aspirations in life!). A quick note that Windows XP SP3 was available, sorta, but stalled at the time.
Benjamin brought up a number of tricks on purchasing a used computer. It's important that you listen, as these are key elements to keeping safe. Benjamin noted a tool, Belarc, that would reveal a number of key bits of information about the computer offered for sale.
A little later, Benjamin noted that Belarc would also provide (with a caution to use this legitimately), other information pertaining to software, like product IDs and installation keys.
Annabelle asked about alternative Broadband sources, instead of DSL or cable. Benjamin noted that the wireless companies are providing Broadband at lower rates these days, with speeds that compete with cheaper DSL lines, and suggested a USB card for access, as it would then be ultraportable. James also had questions about the same, but in regards to travelling "across the pond" to England... and if you need to use this, you'll have to check the audio, as there are important notes to cover. Curtis asked about faxes over the Internet, and Benjamin had some advice there as well.
Nick mentioned "The Grocery Game", and that proved to be quite interesting. Apparently his wife really knows how to work it. Check it out at http://www.thegrocerygame.com/
Of course, you know you've gotta listen to the show now!!!
AUDIO OF THE SHOWYou can download the audio from the show, right here! Just click on the appropriate link, and enjoy! The files are low bandwidth, so you don't have to wait for hours to download one segment!
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Hour 1
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Segment 2.mp3
Segment 3.mp3
Segment 4.mp3
Segment 5.mp3
Hour 2
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Segment 3.mp3
Segment 4.mp3
Segment 5.mp3
