Best free software

[ Music ] ^M00:00:08 [ Background Music ] >> After all this time, I still like this song. Hello everyone, welcome to the CNET Holiday Help Desk. >> Really? >> No. >> Hey, guys-- >> I'm Molly Wood; that is Brian Tong. >> I'm Brian Tong. >> Hey, I'm Seth Rosenblatt. >> We're supposed to-- >> CNET's resident software experts. >> Yeah, but you can also tell this is the first time he's been on the show because you're not supposed to introduce yourself. >> Yeah, you know-- [ Simultaneous Talking ] >> Sorry, sorry. >> We introduce you. >> Okay. >> Actually, I'm supposed to introduce you too, Brian. >> Yeah, but I've been here so many times I have seniority. I have seniority. >> Oh, snap. >> Well. >> I'd like to say my own name once in a while. >> You can tell that the show were getting little punchy because, and I believe this is Brian Tong's line, "this is show number 21." >> Oh, don't take my-- [ Laughter ] >> You know what? Fine, let's just--let's just see everywhere I'm gonna screw you up and take all of your lines. >> Oh, no you don't. >> Except for the interviews, I'll let you do that. >> Okay, how about this, you just do the whole show and I'm gonna sit here like this. >> Okay, let's do that. Alright, so for the next half hour or so-- >> Good luck. It's gonna be a great show. [ Laughter ] >> Yeah, what is it, 20--21. >> 21. >> Tomorrow is the last show and you'll be getting a double dose of the Moll-Tong. >> The Moll-Tong that's why you gave us two days in a row. >> The Muscle Thongs. >> Are you through? I mean things are going great today. >> Oh, it's already starting off flying colors, Brian Hack. >> Yeah, oh, yeah. >> That's the reason folks that these two are opposite each other on the table. >> That's right 'cause otherwise it's the cops. >> Monkey arm. >> Monkey arm. [ Laughter ] >> Okay. >> All those sticking arm. Anyway, you can call us with your questions or to try to calm us down at 888-900-CNET (2638). You can also join the chatroom, that's at cnet.com/live/holidayhelpdesk that will take you right into the chat. You might have to get a little commercial or whatever but it gets to our talking right away. >> Yeah, you'll see the nice Duracell commercial. I still can't get over that guy. >> It's just so, I mean it's-- >> Yeah, it's a kid in the hospital with the toy truck that rolls up his leg. >> Oh! >> And then like it just tears his stomach up. Okay, here we go. >> What? >> You guys are always here. We got prices Crave.cnet.com is the website to go to. Today's price is the Flip Mino HD. Very sweet-- >> Oh! >> Yeah. Flip Mino HD. >> That's our good-- >> Retail is around like, I think around 220-230 dollars around that price point. But obviously, a CVO in your pocket. If you would like to take pictures of your tow bread rolls on two forks dancing like you've seen or a variety of other circumstances-- >> That just--that sounds dirty. Is that dirty? [ Laughter ] >> Can I get a little help, chatroom? >> What? Bread rolls on two forks. Have you seen the ad? It's like the dancing feet. >> Okay, maybe just how you talk. >> It's the dance--okay, it is how I talk. >> I've been--I've been known to be interpreted as dirty. [ Laughter ] >> But I'm hundred percent PG13. And so-- >> Anyway, that's a good give-away. >> It's a great give-away. Oh, right now there's over at 3,000 people that are commenting, so just sign up on our site. Go get it. That's a killer if you have--especially if you have kitties or bread rolls. >> So you've clearly seen this Molly, you know what you're doing. >> I knew it now that he described it, yeah. >> Go bread rolls, go bread rolls, go-- >> Yeah, from Benny and Joon. But originally from some other movie that's classic television-- >> Charlie Chaplin. >> Charlie Chaplin, thank you. >> Yes. [ Laughter ] >> You know from Benny and Joon. Alright, well now that I'm thoroughly embarrassed and newb in the world, let's jump in with our deals 'cause that's what we do [inaudible]. >> So, should we do our shopper deal first? >> We're gonna do the shopper deal first and we don't have a shopper person so Brian Tong has been scouring shopper.com for some space. >> They say I'm looking for the hottest items in shopper.com, so-- >> Hotness, how many dots? >> So if you scroll down maybe around I would say 8 or nine 9 items, there's a cluster of 3 hot deals. This one--the first one is a Sharp AQUOS 46-inch 120 hertz 1080p LED backlit LCD HDTV. It's 1,049 dollars with free shipping. But the big part about this is currently throughout the season other than Cyber Monday, it's the lowest at shopper.com to find 224 dollars below any other price. >> Wow. >> So that's why it's a standout item and it's 3-dot hot. >> Three-dot hot? >> Three-dot hot is hot. >> I think that should be a little hotter dot. >> It's a real--maybe it will go to 4 after us, you know. >> 'Cause a thousand dollars is a pretty good price for a 46-inch LED. >> Yes. >> I think everybody maybe is misreading the E as C. >> L-E-D backlit. >> Those are 5 dots all the way. >> Yeah. So that's killer 1 then. Then if you look down one more Epson, if you like some Epson goodies, you get free shipping, that's fine alright, but then we found a 4-dot hot item. >> Four-dot hot. >> So this is a wireless remote for your Cannon Digital SLRs, well, it makes this nice. And it's only like I think it's like 2.99 after everything with free shipping. >> Yeah. >> You might as well give this free to someone, but it's a really good stocking stuffer because if you take group photos and you don't wanna time the thing, you know, put your SLR on its tripod, jump back in, and boom with your finger. I hate waiting for that whole 10-second. Eee--everyone stops. >> I know, and then be--but they kinda just-- >> Everybody smiling. >> Yeah. Everybody panics and it's like-- >> I though this is really cool. >> Right as it goes off. >> 2.99 free shipping, boom. >> It's pretty good. And there's a list. You can click through to a list of the cameras that it works with and it works with all the major Cannon SLRs, so you should be totally fine, all the Rebels, all the EOS'. >> Yup. >> Wow, 3 dollar. You should just give that for 3 bucks and you just put it in the stocking and people even if they have it can kinda be like, "I don't know, it just seem so useful." >> It's pretty cool stuff. >> Four-dot hot. >> Four-dot hot. So there you go. >> Not bad, not bad, BT. You're practically the deal hunter. >> Well, you know-- >> I mean, you know, you know, you've got big shoes to fill. >> Rick's been falling off his A game lately, so I just thought I'd pick it up a little. >> Whoa! >> Oh, you did not. [ Laughter ] >> And on that note. >> Oh wait, is he on the show today? >> Let's bring in Rick via Skype. >> Oh, my god. Is he on the show today? >> To defend his dot-ness. >> Is he on the show today? >> Oh, yeah. He's oh--he's right there. Oh, you-- >> This--this is embarrassing. >> It's Rick, the hotness right up. Power on, cheapskate. >> Hey Rick, what's up my favorite cheapskate, what's up, man? >> Molly, can I just--can I just call you up when the shows all done and you can just call me the hotness? [ Laughter ] >> Whoa. >> I'm gonna--I'm going to require a kickback. I got to be honest. >> Rick, you could watch this on demand like many of other viewers and just play that loop over and over. >> Over and over. [ Laughter ] >> The hotness. >> It's quite common. [ Laughter ] >> It's a good thought, oh, definitely-- >> Yeah, how many dots? >> Alright, do you wanna go to the other one? >> Yeah, how many dots do you got for us today? >> I'm always--I'm always 5 dots you know that. [ Laughter ] >> Today, I'm 5-dot hot. >> Rick Broida's 5-dot hot. >> He is 5-dot hot, right there. >> I need to get that URL. >> Five-dot hot everyday. >> Rick Broidafive-dothot.com. Okay, so the deal today is who doesn't like free stuff we all like free stuff, right? And everybody needs a good DVD ripping utility today over at the aptly named give--aptly named the giveawayoftheday.com, they have a program called disc ripper which normally sells for 30 bucks and you can have it free, no strings attached, it's all yours to take it, use it, love it. The only catch is you have to download it and install it today before the clock strikes midnight. That's the only string attached, otherwise, you got a nice little DVD ripping utility for archiving your stuff then watching your DVDs on your iPod or what have you. >> Does it turn into a pumpkin if you don't do it by midnight? >> No, but you do. >> It turned into-- [ Laughter ] >> You do sorry and then-- >> I thought I'm one of the field mice or something like that. >> Yeah. >> Plus a 30-dollar pumpkin like doesn't produce lots of pumpkin. Actually that's pretty--this is actually pretty great. I think I'm gonna do this 'cause it's so useful too 'cause I like to get the Diego DVDs for the child and then rip them and put them on either the iPod or now the Droid and it is super useful to have this. >> Excellent, excellent. >> Yeah. And then the backup deal actually I think is pretty good. >> Oh, yeah. >> It sounds like at least a 4-dotter. >> Yeah, that's a 4-dotter. You know, yeah, the backup deal of today Amazon is generously offering anyone who clicks a 4-dollar credit for their video on demand service, so if you wanna get yourself a nice little movie or TV rental, you can do so free, no strings attached, free, free, free, free, free. >> See today's--today's-- >> Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. >> Rick has once again shone me up 'cause both of his deals are free. >> I know, I know, yeah-- >> Way better, really. >> What? >> It turns out. >> Far away better than your deals, I'm sorry, but they are. >> I'm gonna give you that one for today, that's about it, okay. >> See and this is great 'cause you can get your little free movie and have movie night on, you know, the night before Christmas Eve whatever just relax. >> Absolutely. >> You've done--you've worked hard everybody. Alright, thank you Rick very much. >> Thank you guys. >> And you know we'll try not to insult you tomorrow when we have you back tomorrow. You think so? >> If he'll be here tomorrow, I'll just keep my mouth shut. [ Laughter ] >> I think there's also a deal today from Backupify. >> Oh, yeah. >> Have you guys heard about this? >> Yeah, we talked about this on a lot, it's a good one. >> Okay, cool, cool. >> Bring it up, bring it up for people who don't know. >> Get on, tell us what it is, yeah. >> Sure. So Backupify allows you to backup your cloud base data to another cloud base service. It's a little wonky but if you sign up before I think the end of January in 2010, you get a free lifetime storage. >> Oh, really. >> And the cool thing about it is it backs up, like you said, your cloud base stuff, so your Flickr. >> Right, Flicker, Gmail. >> Photos, your Gmail, which is amazing. >> Picasa and everything. >> And it will--it will even do, and I think this is the coolest part; it will do a Twitter archive for you. >> Oh, really. >> Like it will take your entire Twitter history, all your statuses, all your app mentioned, all of your direct messages. >> Right. >> And spit them out as a PDF. >> Wow. >> I know. >> Do we ever want that stuff out there? >> Well, we don't want it out there. >> That's if you wanna track that I guess. >> We just want it at home for when we need to bribe people later. >> Right. >> Yeah. >> And be careful just so when Backupify gets hacked. Three, two, one. >> Yeah, so that's gonna be pretty--anyway, that is still is free. >> Wait there, we know that phrase. >> It's cool and free, yes. >> It's free. Alright, so we do some calls? >> Yeah, let's see what we can do with the calls today. >> Alright. Phone lines are open 888-900-CNET (2638). We have 2 calls. We have 2 lines open, 3 lines open. So let's start--let's start here with Hurtis. Are you there Hurtis? >> Hey, how's it going? >> And is your name really Hurtis? >> You got it. Don't change it. It's original. >> It is. >> Oh, Hurtis. >> It totally is. I just was afraid that maybe you are actually Curtis and we just didn't hear you right. >> No. I go back old school like hammer. Hurtis to me is don't hurt them. [ Laughter ] >> Oh, man! >> Wow! >> How do you spell Hurtis? >> It's just like-- >> Hey it's H--this is--this okay, so I'll give you guys, it's like I'm doing my own show now. ^M00:10:04 >> I know, definitely. >> Oh, yeah, yeah please. >> Curtis with an H, that's what I tell people, Curtis with the H. >> Curtis with the H. >> Curtis with an H, alright. >> Exactly. >> Okay. >> Alright, well Hurtis what is your question? >> First of all hey you guys off of my Twitter post. I don't know his--his name is but I see his hand and we've been kinda going back and forth Mr. B1 over there, I saw. >> Yeah, that's me. >> On the video too. >> Oh yeah. >> So here's my question, techy guy, you know what? I love my music all over like the Lala site that--me. >> Hold on Hurt, okay there you are Hurtis. >> There you are okay. >> Sorry we've lost it for a second. >> Yeah, keep going. >> Are we back? Okay. >> Now we're good. >> So what if I don't want to be cutting edge, I want an MP3 player basically just to be able to play either really MP3 format list on my music. I'm looking for the best bang for the buck basically the biggest hard drive. Once again I don't need photos, I don't need video, be nice to have some type of on-screen display. What's the best price point right now and it doesn't have to be new, it could be used. What would you guys suggest? >> Well, first of all, if it's used--I mean you could go through a whole spectrum of stuff. And what we wanted to kind of isolate or find with you--or find for you was you've mentioned kind of a price point somewhere between 100 and 150 dollars, is that correct? >> That's correct. >> Okay, so you don't have to go the iPod world. You know everyone thinks, "Oh, iPod 3, iPod MP3 player". No. If you check this out the Sony E Series Walkman, it's a 16-gig capacity MP3 player. Some of the cool things that it does have on it, though, is the Slacker radio service built into it. It has an FM tuner, customizable EQs which the iPod family does not have, you can, you know, create, you know, change the sound levels and to customize it the way that you want. Also it supports Amazon on-demand video so you can get video pumped on to that device as well. And so this is--right now our price range on CNET is showing it anywhere between 86 dollars at the lowest point to a 119 dollars at its highest point, so. >> And that's a 16-gigabyte player. >> 16 gigs. >> Is that enough capacity? 'Cause it sounds like what you're talking about is really wanting a lot of storage space. >> Well yeah, I do currently, I already have a--I have an iPod Touch that I advanced it to 8 gig, but I also have a fifth generation, the 30-gig iPod. So I was--I was kinda looking at the--I know there is the iPod classic, the 120 gig. >> Yeah. >> But it's just a little bit out of my price range right now. So, you know, basically I know you guys are probably are dealing more with what you call probably more cutting edge or newer things, but I was even looking at possibly one of the 5G, the 60-gigabyte, but I've already looked at any price as whatever. So basically, well, just--just a little advice right now what would you guys figure what would be the best bang for the buck as far as storage. >> Yeah, I'm thinking. >> As far as storage, [inaudible]. >> As far as storage, I'm thinking you try to, you know, if you can go all the way to 200, that's gonna get you right to that iPod classic or the Zune, the 120-gigabyte Microsoft Zune. What I would do is go on--'cause the thing is everybody is upgrading now because, you know, luckily for you, there's a new iPod about every 8 days. So-- [ Laughter ] >> So I bet, you know, you can get on Craigslist and I'm sure that you could find the--what is it, the 80-gig--the 80-gig original, the brown turd Zune, I think what he calls it. You could--you could--you can find that thing-- >> Or the coffee brown, it depends on your taste. >> Coffee brown, it's--it's very--I find it very-- >> The cafe expresso. >> Chocolate. >> You'll find that 80-gig Zune. I'm gonna look on Craigslist right now while we're talking 'cause I bet you can find that thing all over, you know, for a 50-75 bucks. >> Yeah, if you're talking used like we mentioned earlier, you can find a lot of stuff at that price range. >> Yeah. >> It's almost limitless really, so. >> And I would--I bet--and my bet is, you know, you're gonna, my bet is that the iPods even user gonna be more expensive, so the real bang for your buck, I think, is gonna look--is to look for a used Zune because I think those--that's the one that people are probably gonna love. >> Because Apple products have crazy high resale value on eBay. Sometime, you know, you have a product that you've been only using for a year; you can sell it for about 66 percent of the price that you paid for. >> Exactly. >> I mean that's really-- >> Yup. But the Zunes, you know, there are people who are just kinda--I have a feeling that you're gonna be able to find better prices on those. >> Well, outstanding! You guys gave me some food for thought there. I really appreciate it. >> No problem. >> Alright. >> Good luck, Hurtis. >> In a way you enjoy. >> One thing--one piece of software device if you buy a used hard drive of any kind especially if it's an MP3 player or something where you can re-download the firmware or re-install the firmware, there's a program out there called DBAN, Darik's Boot And Nuke. >> Oh, yeah. >> And that lets you obliterate everything on the hard drive. So even though you may think it's really cool someone is giving you their hard drive that has 500 MP3s on, you don't know what else is there. You don't wanna wind up accidentally getting in trouble, it's much better to just clear the whole thing out and start if fresh. >> Absolutely. Alright so, great tips from Seth and actually we're gonna have many more tips and some must-have software from Seth in just a minute after we take a short break. ^M00:15:20 [ Music ] ^M00:15:27 [ Background Music ] >> If you think all batteries are the same, consider this, these Duracell batteries were given to the Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA. Because when it comes to kids and healing, you're not just powering a toy, you're powering a smile. Duracell, trusted everywhere. [ Background Music ] >> Everywhere you look, new gadgets are popping up. To get the real story on them, there's really only one place to go, CNET.com. Discover something new at CNET. [ Background Music ] >> Last FM now on Xbox Live. Discover all music and explore endless personalized radio stations. Find out more at www.lastfm.com/xbox. ^M00:16:12 [ Music ] ^M00:16:17 >> Welcome back everybody. As you know, we have our own CNET software expert Seth Rosenblatt in the studio, so we thought that today would be--we thought, hey coincidentally we should talk about software today. >> Maybe that will be--that might be a good idea Molly. >> You know what would be a good idea is if we ask Seth some questions about software. What do you think? Alright so--but this the time of year, Seth, when everybody gets a new computer, not everybody, but a lot of people do. >> Sure. >> And they're looking for the right software to put on it. >> Absolutely. >> And also the software that they should unload. >> Absolutely. >> So what do you--what's your advice? >> So, at download.com, me and my co-editors, Jessica Dolcourt and Jason Parker, have put together a series of starter kits. Jason's got the Mac starter kit, Jessica has been doing the Mobile ones, and I've got the Windows ones. So we've got the Windows starter kit, which if you go the website, and it's on the left knob, there's also a big bar in the middle where it'll take you right to it. We cover basically everything. We've got web browsers, email clients, office stuff like OpenOffice, image editors, duke boxes, compression chat, social networking utilities, everything. And there's so much going on in security in Windows that we actually have spun out the security starter kit on its own. >> Good idea. >> So we've got pretty much everything there. >> That's pretty--that's pretty awesome, actually. [ Laughter ] >> Yes and the Windows one, the Windows ones are all free ware as well. So there is no cost for downloading any of it. >> So and then how important is security software? I mean I think you instantly get nag, you know, you've got like usually some kind of trial of Norton Antivirus. Should you just dump all that and go and get a free software download? >> Absolutely. >> Or free security download I mean. >> I think so. It's funny you mentioned Norton because this year's version of Norton is actually really good. It's surprised a lot of people, but they've completely overhauled it. So if you do have Norton and you don't--and you don't have to pay for it, you might as well keep it. The 2010 version is a shocking overhaul. If you want a free AV, though, in the security starter kit, I recommend two AV programs. We've got a vast home addition. Now this is the stable version, the 4.8 version. I know that version 5 is coming with a slightly less ridiculous interface I think sometime in 2010. But I love using a vast. >> What? You mean it won't look like a car stereo? >> Yes. >> Because what an obvious choice for security software to make it look like a car stereo. >> Yes. It's a little strange. >> The interface. >> Little strange. We could chuck it up to their--to them being European, but when I spoke to them about it, they actually disavow any knowledge of that interface at all. >> Never happened. >> Never happened. And you can actually skin it. So if you get--if you grab 4.8, you can change it and make it look better. >> What about Microsoft security essentials? >> That's not a bad one. >> What's your take on that? >> Security Essentials and especially the Panda Cloud AV, Cloud antivirus are both excellent security options for netbooks. They're very lightweight. They're super light on resources. In recent efficacy test, Microsoft security essentials came out fairly strongly. Once again, who knew that 2 of the better security options in '09 would be from Horn and Microsoft. >> I know that is a little shocking. >> Yeah. >> Although I have to admit I just got a new machine that has Norton on it and it's driving me crazy. >> Is it 27? >> It may be better but it's driving me crazy. >> Oh, yeah. >> Yeah. >> Oh, that's not good. >> Anyway. >> Anyway, I wouldn't go to that extend. >> Yeah. So what do people ask you all the time? Like do people have just an on go other than how do I get to work at CNET? >> Right. [ Laughter ] >> Well, how did you [inaudible]? ^M00:20:01 >> How did you get to work at CNET? No. Is there some software question that people ask you all the time? It seems to me that everybody is talking about security when it comes to software, but do you get like, you know, non-stop Window 7 upgrade questions? >> Not so much anymore now that most people who have--who were going to upgrade to 7 seem to have at least the first, you know, batch of them, I think maybe in 2010 as people begin to see what Windows 7 can do and how stable it is, I think we're gonna see another round of Expere's [phonetic] upgrading. But by enlarge, those questions sort of died down after November. Security is always a big one. And again, the start--the security starter kit, I've busted out the antivirus spyware removal. In-browser security is a new category this year, firewall-- >> Thanks. >> Encryption and parental control. The in-browser security, I've actually like to focus on because a lot of problems that people have come specifically from doing stupid things in their browser and they don't always know that they're stupid, it's just things that seem logical and then you wind up-- >> Like a click here. >> Yeah, exactly. >> Seriously. >> It's true. It's scary. >> It's got sneaky out there. It's a scary world out there right now. >> Scary but true. >> Yeah. >> So we've got a web of trust which is a cross-browser crowd-sourced solution for evaluating websites. I gave it 5 stars. I really like this plug-in. It works on Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome. Operating Safari on Windows don't directly support it but there is a bookmarklet that I linked to that you can get to it for opera. >> Web of trust. >> Web of trust. >> What a great name. >> There is--Adblock, the ring of trust. >> Adblock Plus is well known. It's extremely well known. >> Yeah, absolutely. >> LinkScanner is another good one. This is from AVG. It wasn't originally but they bought it. >> Ah, smart. >> Yeah, mine--my actually, one of my favorites is the last pass--password manager which encrypts all of your passwords and puts them up on the Cloud but allows you to get to them and keep them. >> It sounds like--if I know you guys--it sounds like a bad idea but it's not, trust us. Alright, you can--all of these and more is at download.com. You can just--you could really spend days kinda finding out great software to put on your computer. >> Certainly. >> As long though as we're talking about software, Tom Merritt has narrowed it down in case you don't have weeks to the top 5 best free software programs. ^M00:22:37 [ Music ] ^M00:22:44 >> Welcome to CNET Top 5 where each time we meet, we count down another hot CNET list, I'm Tom Merritt. Few things in life are better than free stuff. And for the technologically-minded free software is the best of the best. You can find free and I mean legal software on the net for just about anything you need to do. I took a little informal survey on Twitter and Facebook, it came to a consensus on the best free software, the best of the best to the best. So let's count them down. At number 5, the GIMP. It's big and some people find it incomprehensible, but man, is this PhotoShop replacement powerful. If you want a serious advance image editor, this is the one. Coming in at number 4, HandBrake. It's a converter best known for ripping DVDs into portable formats for things like phones and media players. And contrary to some misinformation, HandBreak does not break the law. You can break the law with it, but that goes for every other piece of software you own as well. Up to number 3, Firefox. Settle down Chrome, Opera, Safari, IE fans, you have to give Mozilla this one. Firefox has been a star in open source land. They started from a donated code base and it became a browser force. It's one of the reasons we have browser choice these days. Sliding in at number 2, OpenOffice from OpenOffice.org. This software is sweet as it truly come into its own. It's a Word processor spreadsheet, presentation maker, and more. You do not necessarily need to spend money on Microsoft Office. Before we get to number 1, time for another Lame Prize. Richard Stallman is credited with starting the free software movement in 1983 with the launch of what project? If you are the first 10 people to answer that correctly at the post for this top 5 of blog.cnettv.com and you could be chosen to win this Yoda Magic 8-ball whom I slightly broken. Ask again later. Alright let's get to our number1, the top piece of free software, the best of the best of the best of the best. At number 1, it's the VLC media player, the overwhelming favorite of the folks on Twitter and Facebook. It can play almost any piece of video you throw at it and it comes with a bevy of video codex. I used to constantly to watch DVDs that seems somehow to be broken on the DVD software that came with my computer, not to mention VLC can transcode video and share it over a network. Truly awesome. Well, that's it for this edition of CNET Top 5. Don't forget to answer the Lame Prize question at blog.cnettv.com for a chance to win the mostly still working Yoda Magic 8-Ball. I'm Tom Merritt. It will be. [ Music ] >> That guy needs a holiday. >> Yeah, he does--he's not very good at Yoda. >> When he starts talking to things he's giving away, he needs to know. >> He needs a break. So that actually--that video, in case you'd sometimes might be tempted to think that software's like not super fascinating, that was our most watched video on CNET-- >> Of the year, right? >> In 2009, of the entire year-- >> Now, that's crazy. >> And it only came out in November. Turns out the magic words are free, and also software. [ Laughter ] >> So from now on, we're just gonna be doing like free software iPod Touch, free software Windows 7. >> Yeah. Everything. >> Free software Sonus streaming stereo system. Alright. So we do some calls real quick. >> Let's get some calls. >> Let's just try to jam them in, we got people waiting--they're waiting. Alright, let's start with Bill in San Francisco. He is computer shopping. Hello, Bill. >> Hi. >> Welcome to the Help Desk. >> Hey, Bill. >> How can we help you? >> I love your weekly reports, the Buzz Report. >> Oh, thank you. [ Laughter ] >> My question is I had my computer for a number of years now, and I'm looking--and we know Windows 7 has come out. I'm trying to find, you know, has the Windows 7 computers and so forth come out to the point where it serve the new generation of stuffs out, and stable and everything, and I shouldn't get the framework. Should I wait 'til January or for a couple of months for sort of the new computers to come out? 'Cause I'm looking for, you know, something to, you know, keep my finances. But I also wanna do more video editing and photos now, 'cause it's just extremely slow on my older computer desktop. >> Well, so, let's start--well, let's go to Seth first, just to find out, you know, is Windows 7 baked? Is it okay to get, you know, the kind of the first wave of Windows 7 machines? >> Oh, sure. As far as I can tell, there's no problem--no major problems with any of them. It's not operating system related, though. It's really up to the hardware at this point. The longer you wait, the better the hardware is gonna get. But, you know, at some point, you need a new machine. So-- >> Yeah. >> I don't know if you guys have anything to answer that, in terms of which machines are best, but from where I'm sitting, Windows 7 has been fine. I've been using it since last January, sort of-- >> And the drivers are solid. I mean, I guess that now is the question with Windows, right? >> Oh, yeah. >> The driver's baker. >> I would say the-- >> Absolutely. >> Yeah, I would say the main thing is because Vista people that have Vista machines were kind of prepped with the proper hardware to support Windows 7-- >> Right. >> And that hardware is now in place. That Windows 7 is running pretty much up the par on all these new--all these current systems. Because in order for them to even make the jump to Vista even though that was kind of a disaster, the hardware was there in place to support the OS. >> Yeah, absolutely. >> And so--yeah, there's no--I mean, I would say, you know, we will--I think Brian Tong has got some--Brian Tong--I think that [laughter]--like it's a wormhole. >> Where is he? Where is Brian Tong? >> So formal. >> I mean there's no Molly Wood. >> I think BT has some suggestions for you. But my--yeah, I would say, you know, again, with Ashley's rule of electronics, if you don't have it, you can't use it. >> Yeah, so-- >> If you need a new computer, you should get one. >> Bill if you're looking--if you're wondering about what's the direction of the new processors, Intel has kind of recently either announced or some specs were leaked across somewhere in all different platforms, so they recently announced their latest in the Intel Atom Processors. One of them is in the latest ASUS Eee PC that we just recently had on CNET. This is the Pine View family, where everything is integrated on the chip. From the lab top side, not in net book side now, we're talking about the lab top side, the Arrandale processors, are gonna be coming out in January 7th. So you can expect to see those in new lab tops in the Q1 of next year. And then if you wanna talk about desktops, the Gulftown processors spec, that's a 6-core processor. It was just a week that was announced. But those would be coming sometime in the first half of next year. So if you, you know, it's December, it's the end of the year. If you can wait 3 months, you'll get some of the newest stuff realistically. >> Sure. >> So-- >> Hey, how much of a hurry are you in? It sounds like you're there but you'd, you know, you're willing to wait for a good deal? >> Yes, I don't--I don't need to buy it at Christmas, but you know, if you know, I try look down and the new ones come out, and the sort of the one generation, a little back, it's a lot cheaper. It's not like it the best value from my buck and then keep it for a couple of years. >> That's why it was definitely gonna be, I think a little bit. I mean, I--personally, I would buy now 'cause there's some great machines out. And there are some great prices on those machines. But you are--there is always--there's always a great value around the corner. And it's true that right now, it's smaller crop of Windows 7 machines. You know, you're gonna have the entire field to choose from in two or three more months, like BT says. >> One thing I would advice concerning Windows 7 is that, if you do get a machine with 4 gigs of RAM, and you can upgrade it to more RAM, you don't necessarily have to upgrade it now, but make sure that it comes with Windows 7 64-bit because you're not really gonna be able to take advantage of anything over 4 gig without 64-bit. And that's really where the future is. ^M00:30:17 >> Good advice. Alright, well, I hope that helps, Bill. We're gonna keep the calls rolling 'cause we've got a lot of people on hold and we want to help them. >> We do. >> We do, I know. Let's see, let's go to line 3 for Jason. Are you there, Jason? Welcome to Holiday Help Desk. >> Well, thank you very much. First of all, just let me say, again, I like your podcast, love Buzz Out Loud. I listen everyday. >> Man. >> Thank you. >> Man, it's just 2 to 0 right now. >> Oh, come on. >> It's alright. You can't win them all. >> No, but they like you too. >> Oh, it's okay. I'm good. >> Jason likes you now. >> I did have a question. >> Oh, there's a question. >> I have an iPhone for personal--for my personal son and then I have a Blackberry for work. And I was interested in getting a Bluetooth, like earbuds, so I can listen to the podcast, listen to my music, you know, when I go to the gym. And I was--I'm really kind of hoping that possibly, it could work for both. But I didn't wanna get, you know, spend a lot of money for something that, you know, didn't work, and I've seen mixed reviews on several different ones. And then if you guys had any suggestions or-- >> Right. Well the ones that--the ones that we seem to like the best that are Bluetooth earbuds 'cause the Bluetooth earbuds seems to be the sticking point. That's a little bit hard to find. >> Yeah. >> But we like the--and these are a little bit older, so you might be able to either--to find a decent price, 'cause it looks like they're still--for about 40 bucks, you can get these Motorola S9 Bluetooth Active Headphones, and they are kind of sports oriented. So-- >> The ones that wrap around the back of your head. >> Yeah, they sort of wrap around the back of your head, and it sounds like they are pretty widely compatible. They said--the chatroom is also suggesting though the Plantronics BackBeat wireless headphones that are--they're very high quality sounds it looks like, and they're made for iPhone. They, let's see, it includes an adapter to stream music from older iPod and MP3 devices lacking the Bluetooth A2DP serial port profile which might mean that it will work for your other phone too. The only problem with these, even though they're completely awesome, is that they are about 130 dollars. I put those in the chatroom, if you wanna put them up on the screen, but they're really nice. They're definitely used. They're super nice. [ Chuckles ] >> I'm not too worried about the price 'cause I wanna get something that's gonna last. So I don't wanna spend, you know, 40 dollars and then turn around and have to spend another 130. So that might be a good suggestion. >> Yeah. Well check these out. It sounds like it's compatible at--you know, the site says it's compatible with most Bluetooth-enabled phones. They're using the Altec Lansing sound technology, so they actually--they're gonna sound really good. So that's one thing to check out. Plantronics BackBeat 903, that sounds like the pair for you. >> Okay, well, thank you very much. >> You're welcome. >> Cool. >> Happy shopping. Alright, so we keep the train rolling. What do you like? >> Yeah, let's go-- >> What do you like in the phone call? >> Let's go set up line 1. Let's set up line 1. >> Alright, looks like that's Jordan. Hello, Jordan. >> Oh, hello. >> Hi. Welcome to the Holiday Help Desk. How can we help you? >> I was--I was looking for a pair of in-ear headphones phones with the volume control and microphone. I wasn't sure which one is good. >> Yeah, the ones that I've had, the personal experience with that, or third party, you don't want the Apple ones. You're looking for kind of a different sound quality or different experience? >> Yeah. >> Yeah, I like the V-MODA's. I believe they're the Vibe Duo-- >> Oh, the Vibe. >> Yeah, the V-MODA Vibe line. >> Those are awesome. >> They--not only do they have this cool, you know, metallic look to it, but also, the base is a little richer and deeper. Those headphones tend to cater towards to that side, specifically when you match them up against Apple's headphones. So they do have a control on them. The ones that you're looking at are the V-MODA Vibe, but I think they're like the Vibe 2 Duos or sort of the latest version. >> The Vibe 2. >> They look so more to that design, but they have all the controls on that--right on the cable. And I would point you to that direction. They're around 80 to 90 dollars as well off the top of my head. >> Okay. >> Yeah, looks like right now, you can--they--I think they retail it for 120, but you can find them for 75 on the Amazon marketplace. >> Okay, great. I have another question also. I was wondering if you can answer it. >> Alright, let's go for it. Let's see what happens. >> Okay. Alright. Try us. [ Chuckles ] >> I have an--I just got--I received a new iPod Touch, and I was--I want a new case see through, and it's like not obtrusive bearing. >> Okay. >> Oh, a case for your iPod Touch? >> Yeah, the--well-- >> That's clear. >> Yes, clear or at least what? >> Cheaper with kind of the tower support air jacket that's on the Apple website. >> You know, I just got--you might wanna check out a company called Zagg, Z-A-G-G. They make the invisibleSHIELDs-- >> Okay. >> And they have those for the--their most recent Apple iPod Touches. I just got like the front case--the front cover for the Droid. And they've got them for all different devices. They do either just a shield for the actual screen or an invisible shield that goes around the whole thing. And there're some, you know, they're scratch proof, and they don't add any bulk at all. They're basically like Saran Wrap but tougher. >> Oh, great. >> I would say one thing that you wanna look still for in a case, is a lot of times, the case snaps on the backside, but it does help when there's kind of a lip on the front. 'Cause if you drop it face forward, there's kind of a little space that the phone or the iPod Touch can land on its face without directly hitting the ground yet. So, I mean, I love incase products because they do a great job and they're pretty low profile. But not as low profile of their cases, but they offer you this--almost like this extra lip of tolerance. So if you drop it, it's going to hit the edges before it hits the screen. So something to think about when you look for a case for your-- >> Say, what was the name of the first one again? >> The first one is Zagg, yes. Z-A-G-G, and they make the invisibleSHIELD. >> Zagg. Zagg. >> So try that. Hopefully, it will help you. Alright. >> Thank you. >> Good luck. I think since that was two calls in one, that's gonna be--that would have to be our last call. We are out-- >> That's too bad he stole somebody's call. >> Of time, I know. He totally sneaks that in. Sneak to an extra call in, but call back tomorrow everybody who's still on hold. Call back tomorrow and we'll get you. That will be our last show. Tomorrow, it's gonna be me and Brian Tong again. Thank you very much, Seth. >> Oh, wow. Okay, I'll be here. >> No problem. Thank you for having me on. Sorry there weren't more software questions. >> Oh, you did great. You did great. >> Yeah. >> You answered a lot of questions. >> No problem. >> Don't even worry about that. >> No problem. >> And before we go, we do need to announce who was our Crave winner from yesterday. They won the Technical Pro PM22 Podcaster. The winner is-- [ Noise ] >> Ninja Burn. >> Best username ever. >> Ninja Burn. >> Ninja Burn, you already have an email, probably from CNET with directions about how to claim your price. So check your junk mail folder and congratulations. >> See you out tomorrow. We're gonna be here with Kent German, mobile phone critique extraordinaire. He--he's happier than he looks, trust us. >> He is. He is a happy guy. >> So he'll be joining us to-- >> He'll gonna make you laugh. >> All your mobile questions you guys can throw at us, and we'll see you guys tomorrow, 1 p.m. West Coast time, 4 p.m. Pacific. We'll be here. >> We'll be here. >> See you. >> Bye. ^M00:36:56 [ Music ] ^M00:37:01