Tech No Phobia - Episode 1.7

Tech No Phobia airs on every Tuesday at 5:30pm MST and repeats on Saturdays at 4:00pm MST.

- Using AutoCorrect as shorthand in Microsoft Word

- How to buy and care for blank CDs

- Mac/PC file sharing

- The Tech of Cars - BMW's hi-tech 745

- How to buy surge protectors

Resources

This week's Super Geek Tip of the Week - computer shorthand
To learn how to use Microsoft Word's AutoCorrect feature as shorthand, check out this week's tip!

---

How to buy and care for blank CDs
All blank CDs are created equal...or are they? Actually, the quality of a blank CD can vary widely based on the manufacturing process and what brands you buy. For a reference site on various blank CD manufacturers and how they graded, check out this article at CDMediaWorld.com.

When it comes to taking care of recordable CDs, heat is a major enemy, so try to keep them protected from direct sun light. The recordable CD will not last as long as commercial music CDs because the burn process if different, so take extra care. A common misconception is that he recorded side of the CD is the most delicate, when in fact the label or foil side is the side that needs the most protection. Any data that is burned onto any type of CD resides on the back side of the foil label, which means a scratch to the foil will destroy it, so keep the foil side protected!

---

Mac/PC file sharing
We asked our Mac Geek, Louis of Mac Media to come and show us how complicated it is to share files between a Mac and a Windows based PC. We burned a CD with music and word documents on it then handed it to Louis and viola, without any special software, the file were accessible!

The point of the excersize was to show how compatible the applications that are used on both platforms are becoming, especially when going from a PC to a Mac.

Some programs require special conversions in order to migrate from one platform to the other, so check with the software vender's web site for specific instructions for moving from one to another.

Louis also brought an interesting product for those that want to migrate everything from data to address books to favorites from a PC to a Mac. It's called Move2Mac and it connects via the USB ports to suck everything out of the PC and put it into the Mac in the proper places!

---

The coolest hi-tech car on the planet!
We went to the largest BMW dealership in the world, BMW of North Scottsdale, to experience what has been called the most technologically advanced car on the market, the BMW 745.

For the complete story on all the toys, check out BMW's web site.

---

How to buy surge protectors!
Is that strip that you plug your valuable equipment into really protecting it? If it doesn't have a UL 1449 lable or a Joule rating on it, it probably is of no use!

Checkout all of the tips on buying protection that we discussed during one of our past radio show on surge and power protection!

Trivial Tech Term

POST: Power On Self Test - The primary process that occurs when you turn on your computer. It generally includes counting up memory and accessing the various components to make sure that everyone is ready to play. The next time a tech asks you 'Did your system POST?", you will know how to answer!

Tip of the Week

Using Word's AutoCorrect as shorthand: AutoCorrect is the feature in Microsoft's Word processing program that automatically corrects common punctuation errors and misspelled words. But did you know that you could create your own AutoCorrect entries for your own shortcuts?

Previous Episodes

• Episode 1.1
• Episode 1.2
• Episode 1.3
• Episode 1.4
• Episode 1.5
• Episode 1.6
• Episode 1.7
• Episode 1.8
• Episode 1.9
• Episode 1.10
• Episode 1.11
• Episode 1.12
• Episode 1.13
• Episode 1.14
• Episode 1.15
• Episode 1.16
• Episode 1.17
• Episode 1.18
• Episode 1.19