Kickstartnews Revue - Podcast #13 - Show Notes for July 31, 2005

Here's the lineup for Show #13:

• Letters to the Editor: We've got listener and reader e-mail about QPS, the Namo Web Editor, Belkin's USB 2 DVD Creator, Xandros Linux Desktop - for lawyers no less, and some confusion about Symantec's GoBack.
  
• Kickstartnews Confab: No Confab this week because the interview is real long.
  
• Interview: We talk with Jonathan Zdziarski about Ending Spam, his latest book, and about his views as a highly regarded programmer and researcher, the latest cures for spam and how spam affects SOHO, home-office and small business owners.
  

The rest of the show notes . . . More . . .

Kickstartnews Revue - Podcast #12 - Show Notes for July 24, 2005

Here's the lineup for Show #12:

• Letters to the Editor: We've got listener and reader e-mail about SpinRite 6 and floppy disks, and about the best choice in a desktop network printer for enterprises.
  
• Kickstartnews Confab: When will software and hardware become easier to use? What's the magic formula of design and technique that will let new users and busy business users get up and running faster than they do now? Time is money.
  
• Interview: We talk with Brad Wardell, the founder and CEO of Stardock—that wonderful company which brings us Object Desktop, Windows Blinds and Galactic Civilizations to name a handful of their great programs.

The rest of the show notes . . . More . . .

Podcasting Really Is Coming On Strong . . .

We received a call last week from the York Region Newspaper Group — a large regional newspaper chain — asking us for an interview about Podcasting: how it started, how it has grown, where it is headed, and how it fits into the Kickstartnews world.

The interview was interesting for us mainly because it was gratifying to realize that podcasting 'fervor' has drilled its way into the community and suburban consciousness. There are plenty of podcasts out there which should be of interest to home-office and small business owners as well as home computer users and hobbyists. As well, information junkies can gorge themselves on podcast OpEds, opinion, and terrific 'casts on everything from astronomy to philosophy. Enjoy!

Here's the link to the article published Thursday July 21th.

Kickstartnews Revue - Podcast #11 - Show Notes for July 17, 2005

Here's the lineup for show #11:

• Letters to the Editor: We've got listener and reader e-mail about the QPS Que! CD/DVD-RW drive, the Membership Plus software and a frustrating question about the Sony Clie NX80V and its optional GPS multifunction car cradle, plus a compatibility question about Pathway 3.0, the Palm OS GPS program from Muskoka Software.
  
• Kickstartnews Confab: The vacation doldrums -or- how on earth do you manage things and conduct business when one-third of your three-person office goes on vacation?
  
• Big City Byte: I Didn't Get What I Thought I Bought! Buying something for the office? Better tear apart the product box while you're still in the store because you can't rely on information from store staff—not even for popular, top-of-the-line products.

The rest of the show notes . . . More . . .

Kickstartnews Revue - Podcast #10 - Show Notes for July 10, 2005

Show #10 is packed with interesting information for SOHO and small business.

• Letters to the Editor: External hard drives, Internet form filler for Mac OS X, video podcasts.
  
• Kickstartnews Confab: What we like and don't like about office copiers, printers, lease plans and all of the things which sometimes have us hanging around the big copier, hoping and praying it all comes out the way we want it to come out.
  
• Big City Byte: Location sensitive cell phones. They're not rolling out yet. We need the technology. Dial a local number on your cell phone while you're just outside the area code boundary and the dumb network doesn't have the brains to prepend the proper codes and complete the call. Use your cell phone to call 911 now and emergency services can't locate you!

Links and related information in the Show Notes. More . . .

Changing Operating Systems: Do You Have the Time?

I don't have time to make precipitous changes to the way I work. The operating system pundits would have us all believe that Mac OS X and the latest Linux releases from Xandros are transparent to Windows users immersed in the Microsoft way of doing things. But the fact is that different operating systems are not transparent to long-time Windows users. If it were that easy, a lot of us would have switched years ago. So I don't have time to make precipitous changes to the way I work.

Once upon a time, computer operating systems were managed and developed by nice, smart people who had the good sense to stay in their own kitchens. Apparently now, Linux (that former bastion of open source development and all things democratic) thinks it can exist on home and business desktops. Well Kickstartnews has reviewed some Linux distributions and confirms that Linux is ready for prime time. More . . .

Kickstartnews Revue - Podcast 09 - Show Notes for July 2, 2005

The show is squarely focused on SOHO and small business needs. This week's lineup:

Kickstartnews Confab — Hobbyists, SOHO and small business owners have to take vacations. If they don't, business suffers, quality goes down and businesses don't last.

Reader and Listener E-mail — We get backed up . . . on e-mail that is. We answer your questions about metal PDA cases, Norton Internet Security 2005, Trivial Pursuit for Palm and Pocket PC, full hard drives, drive partitions, installing new programs.

Big City Byte — Some parts of the software you purchased two years ago may soon stop working? Yes it's true. Here's the story and what you can do about it.

Check the rest of the Show Notes for facts, figures, details and URLs. More . . .