Techbyter Worldwide (formerly Technology Corner) With Bill Blinn

The latest version of Adobe Illustrator not only brings the application up to date by adding long-missing features, but charges ahead with some surprising new tools. Opera has a new version, too; I like it, but probably won't use it much. When it was time to replace a notebook computer recently, I had some interesting decisions. In Nerdly News, a space crash, free Windows 7 (maybe), and Google (sub) Earth.

This week, I have some tips for improving the response of Windows XP, a look at the latest versions of The Bat and Thunderbird e-mail programs, a series of shorts in the "remnant bin" and, in Nerdly News, a summary of last week's Google problem and a new network speed analysis tool that's being tested.

Warning: This program is much longer than usual. Adobe makes two applications for recording and editing sound and one of them is so easy to learn that anyone can edit audio almost like a pro. We'll also take a look at JAlbum, a photo-sharing program. In Nerdly News, turbulence for Microsoft Flight Simulator and Internet Explorer 8 is almost ready.

Backup is important, but too few people do it. It need not be hard or expensive. Today's computers contain hundreds or thousands of documents that, in an earlier time, would have been a physical object. That's why you need backup. In Nerdly News, mostly bad news for the IT industry and LG offers a couple of plasma screens with suspicious specs.

Nero 9 is out and ready to help you organize your old video and audio files, but it might also help save pictures from your digital camera. A phishing attack that claimed to be from the US government leads to a porn portal. An incident in December illustrates how fragile the Internet is. In Nerdly News, low-capacity high-cost disk drives will be a big seller and a spam claims to be from the FBI.

The latest version of Dreamweaver hits the Web running. If you can't afford an extra screen, you can at least have an extra desktop or two. After installing a Microsoft update more than 20 times, I gave up. Where is your software from? In Nerdly News, the end of the big show and thanks for the feedback.

If you've ever accidentally overwritten or otherwise lost a file, meet your new safety net: AlwaySync. Networked computers spend a lot of time talking and CurrPorts can let you listen in. I'll give you the lowdown on the site's new look for 2009. In Nerdly News, spam volume is still down and Intel is pushing the I7 processor. NOTE: This week's audio is a bit substandard because of technical problems.

Is this the year of Linux? TechByter Worldwide is now more than 125 episodes old. TechByter takes a brief break. In Nerdly News, it's Macworld without the Mac and Smashing Pumpkins says NO to CDs.

A helpful disaster allowed me to upgrade my Vista computer to XP and Linux without losing any files. If you want a free credit report, avoid "freecreditreport.com". Amazon kills its charitable giving option. In Nerdly News, another Firefox version approaches and Yahoo receeds.

Sometimes just getting a picture is more important than getting a great picture. These are the times when you need a camera that's simply "good enough" to do the job. Once you have that "good enough" image, head off to Adobe Photoshop CS4 to see what you can do with it. In Nerdly News, Vista is 2 but nobody's celebrating and the latest version of Ubuntu Linux is earning great reviews.

Adobe Creative Suite 4 is out and I'm trying to get my mind around this gigantic product; this week, I'll take a look at Bridge. A couple of phishing e-mail arrived this week; they were dumb and dumber. In Nerdly News, the end arrives for Jerry Yang and approaches for the print edition of PC Magazine. And chip maker Transmeta has been sold.

The newly released Open Office 3 might be "good enough", particularly in trying economic times. Some memory prices have dropped by more than 99% in 7 years. I'll tell you about the 3 precincts I was responsible for in the election (website only). In Nerdly News, a Washington Post reporter helped pull the plug on a San Jose hosting service that was the source of about half of the spam sent from within the United States and Windows is 25. (Or is it?)

Every day I receive about 1600 spams, but most are stopped by my first line of defense. Some of this week's spams are, to nobody's surprise, playing on election results. If you like to know what's going on around the world, RSS Owl can help you find various points of view. In Nerdly News, the upcoming Patch Tuesday will be quiet, Yahoo now wants Microsoft to buy it, and WiFi may be coming to TV band white spaces by 2010.

The fraudsters are out in force and trying to take advantage of confusion about bank mergers. The election coming on November 4 and I'll again be working for the Board of Elections. It's going to be a long wait for Windows 7. In Nerdly News, the first newspaper to go Internet only and the importance of being patched.

Make sure your computer has been updated with an emergency patch from Microsoft. Chrome seems not to have very much chrome and that might be good. WinZip his version 12 and continues to improve. In Nerdly News, something new from NetFlix and layoffs from Yahoo.

Sometimes we miss the obvious and the most obvious large story that was missed during the recent Olympics in Beijing was that the Internet didn't melt from all the streaming video. What's in the future? While I was watching a movie last week, I started wondering why Hollwood can't get technology right. In Nerdly News, another browser threat appears and Apple releases a $1000 notebook.

If you're looking for an easy way to create a memorable and secure password, I have some suggestions for you. We'll take a look at another scare-spam that wants to put malware on your computer. I explain political comments that were out of place. In Nerdly News, new notebook computers coming from Apple and yet another misguided attempt to halt file sharing.

Adobe has a real winner with Lightroom 2, a new group spreads fear and paranoia, and in Nerdly News, phishing attempts are up and text messaging figures into a deadly train crash.

The power outage that kept me in the dark for nearly a week was little more than an inconvenience, but what about people in Texas? In Nerdly News, I have the Google phone and hacking Sarah Palin's e-mail account.

What is Microsoft's future in terms of operating systems? Good question! I have some thoughts. Carbonite picks up some new venture capital funding and plans to start advertising on radio and television. In Nerdly News, goodbye to a cracker and say hello to your new television.