This week we're talking about the many problems of iOS 6, the greatness of Windows 8 tablets, how you can download all the things, and much more. We're also answering your questions about formatting drives for a hackintosh, keeping desktop layouts in sync among several computers, and how to solve a Playstation Network identity crisis.
How to Listen to This Week's Episode
Here's how you can listen to our episode:
News and Top Posts
iOS 6 Is Out, and Came With Lots of Problems
Apple released iOS 6 this week and people are complaining about all the problems in the Maps app, user interface changes they find annoying, Passbook not working, and plenty of other problems. We've answers plenty of questions about iOS 6 in our ongoing coverage, so check it out if you're in need of some answers. We'll continue to update that page as more useful information surfaces.
Windows 8 Tablets Are Great
Last week, Whitson had a chance to check out a tablet running Windows 8. He liked it a lot, and found it was the perfect hybrid between a standard computer and a tablet. Listen to the podcast for more.
How to Download Virtually Anything as Soon as It Comes Out
This week, I looked at all the ways you can download virtually anything as soon as it comes out. That includes movies, music, television, comic books, ebooks, and pretty much any other file with a URL. While the scripts that make this possible are certainly capable of downloading copyrighted work, you can use them to download material you're authorized to download. Additionally, if morality is your only concern and you just don't want to rip a bunch of discs you own, that's another reason to go this route. If you prefer to rip discs yourself, definitely check out Whitson's Blu-ray ripping guide. CDs and DVDs are easy, but Blu-ray requires a bit of explanation.
Why Spotify and Rdio Aren't Ready to Replace Your Music Collection
Whitson was really excited to take the plunge into a streaming music like Spotify or Rdio, but neither work as well as he'd hoped. Here's why.
Get Paid to Ditch Your Carrier and Buy an iPhone 5
We've discussed upgrading to the latest iPhone for free, but why stop there? Why not have your carrier pay you for your new phone? That's what one clever guy did. All it took was a little persistence with customer service.
Fix Broken Buttons on Your Phone
What happens when a button on your phone breaks but the rest of the phone works just fine? If you want a working button, you'll probably have to get a new phone. That's not the most cost-effective option for a lot of us. Whitson discovered a way to replace hardware buttons with software ones so you can still use your phone even when part of it breaks.
Questions and Answers
Each week we answer five questions from readers and listeners. Here's what we tackled this week.
How should I format my drives when turning my Windows machine into a hackintosh?
Copy all the data to an external, install OS X, and copy it all back. If you plan on using both Windows and OS X at any point, you might also want to format those data drives as ExFAT first. ExFAT is readable and writable by both Windows and OS X, so if you're just storing files on the drive it's really the best format to use. Alternatively, if you don't have an external drive for transferring purposes, you can set up your system so your data is readable on any OS with just a few drivers.
How can I keep my desktop layout completely in sync?
You can't 100%, but if you sync your desktop folder with an app like Dropbox you can come pretty close. Just follow these instructions. If you want to maintain the layout, a Windows app called Fences can set up rules to keep everything in the same position. Just use the same rules on every machine and you'll be good to go. OS X doesn't have an exact equivalent to fences, but you can press Command+J in the Finder to set automatic organization options and apply those to every machine.
Someone accidentally signed up for a Playstation Network account using my email address. What do I do?
The listener who sent in this question is hesitant about calling support because it's a hard thing to explain, but that's probably the best course of action. All that needs to be said is this: "Someone signed up for a PSN account using my email. I think it was an accident. I don't know how to contact him/her, so could you let them know they should change the email address associated with the account?" If that doesn't work, Whitson realized that with this mistaken account's user name, it's possible to contact the owner and let them know about the mistake. Just log onto PSN and send them a message. They might ignore it, but maybe they'll be curious enough to look into the problem.
An Update for Caffeine Addicts
Last week we got a call about a major caffeine addiction and offered the best suggestions we could think of, but Alan decided to do better. He spoke with health experts and wrote a post on ditching your caffeine addiction. If you want more advice on how to cut back on your consumption, check it out.
Also, Darren called in to keep his promise of screaming into the phone for answering his question.
Downloads of the Week
Each week we talk about our favorite downloads. Here are our picks for this week.
LastPass Sentry (All Platforms)
LastPass, our favorite password manager, has added a new feature called LastPass Sentry that automatically emails you whenever it detects a breach on one of your online accounts.
Download LastPass
Growl 2.0 (OS X)
Growl, the popular notification software, just hit version 2.0. This major update brings true support for Notification Center, plus the ability to push notifications to your mobile via Prowl or Boxcar.
Download Growl
Glow for FB (OS X)
For people who use Facebook more as a communication tool, it's often not worth the potential productivity drop to head over to the main site all the time. Glow is a Mac app that aggregates your Facebook notifications into Notification Center without being intrusive.
Download Glow for FB
Cue
Cue is an intelligent calendar that integrates your email, contacts, documents, and other cloud services to create a smart timeline of your day-and it's updated with some much-needed customization options and performance improvements.
Download Cue
Chameleon Launcher
The much-hyped Chameleon Launcher is now available, bringing a truly useful, beautiful launcher and home screen to your Android tablet.
Download Chameleon Launcher
How Do I Submit a Question?
There are three ways to send in your question:
Please keep your questions as brief as possible. This means about 3-5 sentences for emails and 30-60 seconds for calls and videos. Your questions can be specific, but broader questions are generally better because they'll apply to more people. For example, "how can I breathe new life into my old PDA?" is much better than "what can I do with an old HP iPAQ 210?" Either way, we look forward to hearing from you!
Newspaper, Computer, and Clock (by Brandon Hopkins) provided by the Noun Project.
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