Techbyter Worldwide (formerly Technology Corner) With Bill Blinn

Fraud may arrive in your inbox as a card that claims to be from a friend or family member or as a warning against fraud. In some cases, fraud reaches out to you when you're trying to buy something. In Nerdly News, we have $250 laptops, resolution of the lawsuits between Netflix and Blockbuster, and electrical problems for the National Security Agency.

Microsoft Word 2007 is unlike any previous version of Word in many ways and most of the changes make the program more usable. As I continue working with Vista, I find features to like and others--well, not so much. A near disaster underlines the need for backup. Nerdly News considers cost and price of storage and Computerworld says OCLC is a good place to work.

My apologies for the audio quality, which is a bit substandard this week. Pandora's Box is yet another way to kill radio, I explain how to ruin a photograph. In Nerdly News, I have a quick Windows Vista update, thanks to Adobe, and why you shouldn't put your keyboard in the dishwasher.

The show is a little late today because of technical difficulties: I've installed Vista and can give you a quick look at what's new. In digital photography, more pixels doesn't equate to better quality. I have a quick report on the changing face of spam. Nerdly news looks at Apple TV, NetFlix and Amazon, and some upcoming reviews on TechByter Worldwide.

Here's a quick first look at Office 2007 and a more detailed look at Office Publisher. Then it's off to New York City for a trip to the Big Apple Apple Store (and a reminder about the advantages of staying in Harlem.) In Nerdly News, a big spammer is in the slammer and one stage really is large enough for Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.

The Bat is the most powerful e-mail application on the planet; is it the right application for you? Diagnosing network problems by long distance is a problem, and in Nerdly News, Apple has a patent aimed at reducing theft and spam is increasing, but we're less concerned about it.

If you have computer-based tasks that you have to do again and again, I have a program you'll like. Creative has a new Zen product and it's small. This is TechByter Worldwide's first anniversary. In Nerly News, I have some Lotto news and the bad news about AOL passwords.

I haven't yet installed Windows Vista, but I'm getting closer as I continue to sneak up on it. This is not a change to make lightly. I was shocked and stunned to discover that not everything on the Internet is entirely truthful when I briefly thought about renting a car for a day. Scammer-spammers have modified a trick to get you to download a rogue application, but only people who aren't paying attention will fall for this one. Nerdly News has a Worthington to Paris route that doesn't involve an airplane and an anti-spam group has filed a large lawsuit.

Diskeeper is the disk defragmenter that replaces the one Microsoft provided. I'll explain why you should have it. Then we'll take a look at some folk-remedy protections against spam; unfortunately, they don't work. In Nerdly News, Microsoft is looking to acquire Yahoo and Office 2003 users will receive a security upgrade.

A month of many security updates for Apple and none for Microsoft means something, maybe. But what? A quick Vista update. How spam is related to the life and times of P.T. Barnum. Nerdly News considers Wal-Mart and the cheap HD-DVD player rumor and $3 Windows from Microsoft.

A report about a "secure" USB drive that turned out not to be so secure led me to an encryption program that is highly secure. I take a look at good service from a computer retailer, how to eliminate some Windows messages, and consider Vista (again). In Nerdly News, the Blackberry meltdown and losses pile up at AMD.

Three years ago, I had the opportunity to meet with Adobe's InDesign development team, so I'm awaiting the new version of the CS3 suite with great anticipation. You probably won't be adding a 3D printer at home anytime soon, but I think you'll find the process interesting. An explanation (only on the website) about why two programs have been missing in the past month. In place of Nerdly News this week, I have questions about spam and about a problem USB device.

It seems that crackers aren't the primary source of data loss after all; we have met the enemy and he is us. The Internet wasn't designed with today's users in mind; what will be next and how much will it cost? In Nerdly News the first big music label gives up on DRM and ICANN gets cold feet on the xxx top-level domain.

Open Office 2.1 is out and 2.2 is approaching, so is now the time to switch? The Recording Industry Association of America continues to attack the wrong people. In Nerdly News, YouTube gets some competition and the Motion Picture Association wants more control over how you use DVDs.

When talking about open source software, Microsoft sounds a lot like IBM and DEC when they were talking about Microsoft in the early 1980s. ICANN strips a registrar. In Nerdly news, Cisco acquires WebEx and a doctor says cell phones pose no threat in hospitals.

How to make audio files smaller so that you can e-mail them. Another stay in Harlem and some reflections on racial issues. In Nerdly News, GoodbyeSpam versus SpamArrest and Europe threatens Microsoft with fines.

Questions about listening to the program without Itunes, questions about WiFi; Joe gets a new computer; how Jet Blue's problems affected me; and Nerdly News reviews the XM-Sirius proposed merger and an agreement between Apple and Cisco.

I'm not yet upgrading to Vista and I have 4 reasons why you should consider the same inaction. My G3 Ipod can now run for 5 hours on a battery charge. Let's look at how you can shrink photos you e-mail and why you should. Nerdly News considers memory prices and Vista sales.

Not much more than $100 will put a decent digital snapshot camera in your pocket as digital continues to change the way we use photography. Companies such as Eastman Kodak and Fuji are still trying to deal with the change brought about by digital. In Nerdly News, Apple looks forward and the RIAA continues its rear-guard efforts, but on the phone front, Samsung may beat Apple to market with an advanced phone.

Would you read commercial messages if someone paid you to do it? Recent version of Corel's Graphics Suite have been more reliable and I talked with a product manager about that change. In Nerdly News, Michael Quinion says Googlebombing no longer works and a Google failure this week goes unexplained.