I sure can! People may not know that there are so many different types of MP3 players, but there definitely are. It seems like everything these days have several variations and MP3 players are no exception. I know that iPods have taken over the world (in a way) and that MP3 players aren't really talked about much anymore, but in all actuality, more people may have MP3 players than iPods. So, it's important to still talk about these as well, so let's get started!

Just in case you're not sure, MP3 players are pocket sized devices that allow you to store and play music and other sound files. While there are several types of these players, they all can be placed into one of three categories: hard drive based players, micro hard drive based players and flash based players. Who knew?!

1.) Hard Drive Based - These are usually a little bit larger in size and heavier than the other types. The reason for that is because they come with a large hard drive right inside. Since they have that hard drive, they are able to hold the most data, going up to at least 10 GB or more. In case you're not sure, that equals to about 2,900 sound files. (That's a lot!) Although these are heavier and not as convenient, they do hold more and that's the one thing that makes this type so popular.

2.) Micro Hard Drive Based - These are similar to the hard drive based players, but they are much smaller (hence the micro), both in physical size and in terms of storage space. These MP3 players only hold up to six gigabytes of data, which equals to approximately 1,700 files. That still is quite a bit of space and along with its smaller size, people have been crazed over this type of player. Since these are smaller, people like to take them on walks or to the gym with them, which is great, but they are susceptible to skips if movements are too big. On the other hand, there's another good note about these. They come with rechargeable batteries, just like the hard drive based player.

3.) Flash Based - Last, but not least is the flash based MP3 player. If the other two players didn't strike you, this one may. The main advantage of this type is that it contains no moving parts and therefore, it will never cause any skipping. They are also smaller in size and since they have no moving parts, they are able to hold a battery charge for a longer period of time. This helps your batteries last longer, which is always nice. On the other hand, they only hold up to 32 MB, which is only around 10 songs. There is another model that holds two gigabytes, which is around 570 songs, but that's still not very much. Either way, the other two players hold much more! If you have a huge music collection, this player may not be the right one for you.

So, as you can see, there are several differences between to three types of player models. There are other features that differ between MP3 players, but these are the most prominent. If you're looking to buy a new MP3 player, you'll want to keep these things in mind. Hopefully this helped clear up some pros and cons for you!

You've probably watched hundreds of tiny videos on websites. It's tedious. Democracy Player makes video on the internet way less frustrating and way more enjoyable. You can subscribe to channels of internet video, download videos, and watch them fullscreen, one after the other, all in one application. Internet video becomes internet TV. It's free and open for everyone to watch and to broadcast.

     1. Subscribe to Channels
      Democracy has a built-in Channel Guide. It's an open catalog of hundreds of free channels. Subscribe to any channel with a single click.
     2. Download from Channels
      Pick videos to download or set the channel to automatically get new stuff as it comes out (like a Tivo).
     3. Watch Videos
      Lean back and watch your new videos in standard mode or full screen. Democracy plays almost every video format.

Over 600 Channels Waiting for You
There are more than 600 channels in the Channel Guide that is built-in to Democracy and new ones are added every day. They're as interesting and diverse as the internet itself. Subscribe to any of them for free with a single click. Here are a few examples.
http://www.getdemocracy.com/

I'm an over-the-road driver. Some truck stops provide free Internet service. But  parking can be a challenge. If I have to park far away, the signal is weak or non-existent. Is there an antenna I could attach to my laptop to get better Wi-Fi reception?

It is easy to extend the signal of your wireless access point. There are many antennas and wireless extenders on the market.

You can also extend the range of desktop computers fairly easily. But you're using a laptop. That will require a little more work.

These days, most laptops include built-in wireless. I have heard of laptops that support the addition of an external antenna. However, I have yet to see one.

Unfortunately, there's no other way to add an external antenna to a built-in card. That is, unless you want to take apart your laptop and drill a hole through the case. I know what you're thinking. I wouldn't do it, either.

However, you can add a wireless card that plugs into a PCMCIA slot. They run about $50. These cards are less elegant than built-in ones. They protrude from the side of the computer. The part that sticks out is the antenna.

Of course, an antenna on an add-on card isn't likely to be much better than the one already inside the computer. But some cards allow you to attach an external antenna. That's precisely what you want to do.

As it happens, Buffalo makes several models that feature connections for external antennas. They're clearly labeled on Buffalo's site. You should be able to find Buffalo cards at your local electronics store. If not, you can purchase them online.

Some Proxim-Orinoco cards accept external antennas. So do some Senao and ZyXEL cards. You'd need to hunt around the Internet to find these cards.

And, I can't provide you with much information on which models of the cards accept antennas. I learned about these cards through Internet forums, not first-hand experience. So details were vague.

When you buy a wireless card, you'll see varieties. There's 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g and pre-n.

Pre-n will become 802.11n when it is finalized; I would stay away from this one for now. Pre-n gear may not be compatible from manufacturer to manufacturer. Instead, opt for 802.11g; it provides the best combination of speed and range.

Once you find a wireless card, you can buy an antenna to connect to it. You may also need to buy an additional adapter, depending on the connection type. Connection types include SMA, MC, MMCX, MCX and RP-MMCX. Sigh.

The Super Cantenna ($50) will work with laptop cards. It requires an adapter, which is $8. The site lists laptop cards with which the adapters are compatible.

You'll find more antennas at Antenna Systems. RadioLabs also sells a variety of antennas. Additionally, it sells laptop cards and entire kits. Some of the kits are specifically designed for truckers.

When you're buying an antenna, look at the gain. You'll see numbers like 5 dbi or 11 dbi. Higher is better.

If you add a wireless card to your laptop, you'll need to disable the internal one. Otherwise, you'll run into problems. Also, be very careful with the setup. Connections on the PCMCIA cards are fragile. You can easily break the connector and wreck the card.

Some wireless cards can be adjusted. So you may be able to give your card a little extra boost. In the wireless card's program, you'll find its settings. Under transmission power, set it to maximum, or 100 percent. If your laptop uses power savings, the transmission power may be reduced to preserve the battery.

You can register for Kim Komando Newsletters at:    http://www.komando.com/newsletters/

A reader asks, "I was at an outdoor concert and tried to take some photos. It was at night, so I tried to use my flash. All I got was the back of peoples' heads! You could see a little of what was on stage, but it didn't look very good. What went wrong"?

Ah, flash distance. You don't have enough of it. Most people think that all they have to do is turn the flash on and it'll light up anything, at any range. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way, but it will give you a permanent record of the dandruff problems the guy in front of you has.

See, most flash units, especially those built into cameras, only reach 15 to 20 feet. After that, the light they produce falls off quickly. You can get larger, more powerful units, but even those will only go 50 to 100 feet (if your ISO is set high enough).

The little bit of image you did get from the concert was from the ambient light on the performers. Yep, all those thousands of flashes going off at an event like that are just little flickers of disappointment.

So, how do you take good photos under these circumstances? It isn't easy. I used to photograph plays for a couple of local theaters and flash was out of the question. So, I set the camera on a tripod, loaded some high speed film (800 ISO) and captured what I could. As long as the scene wasn't too dark, this worked great.

However, the likelihood of you being allowed to set up a tripod when you're at a concert isn't real high. Tripods are just too big and bulky. Besides, that's probably a sure way to get yourself kicked out (or at least kicked from the people behind you).

So, my advice is to shut off the flash, crank your ISO up to 400 or 800 (depending on how much "noise" you can handle. See this tip for more on that). Then, just brace yourself as best you can. Also, favor the parts of the show where the lights are brightest. That will help a lot.

Sure, chances are, you'll get a lot of bad shots, but at the same time, you'll probably get some really good stuff too. In any event, it should be better than trying to use your flash. Give it a try next time you sneak your camera into a concert!

Surely! That's no problem. You're actually not the only one who has called us or written to us about this very topic. It's very interesting, so come along with me as we check this out!

Do you have the Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 program on your computer? If you do, there is an update for it that you just have to check out. It's called the Update Rollup 2 and it's meant only for the XP Media Center software. With this update, you will receive enhancements in the stability and performance of the program itself. So, if you've ever had any problems with the Media Center, this upgrade should fix them all!

Another main feature to the update is the improvements that are going into the Media Center Extender. The program will now recognize when you have an Xbox 360 connected to your network, it will provide extra support for two (yes, I said two!) Advanced Television Systems Committee tuner cards and it will also now function with the DVB-T radio broadcasts. You will also enjoy an optimization feature that will help your computer to continue to run smoothly, a zoom mode for widescreen TVs and an update for burning DVDs.

You can install the update by going to this Web site. You can either choose the Express (which is recommended) or the Custom installation. Now, in order for the install to work, you need to have both the Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 and the .NET Framework 1.1 SP1 utilities already on your computer. Chances are, if you've been using the Media Center program for quite awhile, you will already have both of these on your PC.

If you're not sure, there are a couple of ways you can go about finding out. For one, the regular Windows Update will actually determine if your computer has them or not. If you don't happen to have them, it will automatically install them for you. Now, this is where things get a little more confusing, but bear with me and you'll make it through.

Note: This next section is only for those of you who already have the .NET downloads on your computer. The .NET Framework 1.1 recently came out with an update. If you happened to run that update on your computer, you must uninstall it (just the update) in order for the .NET Framework 1.1 SP1 part of the download to work. If you don't, those two functions will interfere with each other. So, now, if you're not sure if you have the update, here's how you can check. (By the way, the update will be labeled by the number 886904).

Go to Start, Run and type in "appwiz.cpl" and click OK. Click the Show Updates check box and under the Currently Installed Programs list, look for an entry that says "Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 Hotfix (KB886904)." If you see it, you must remove it before you go any further with the Media Center upgrade. To uninstall it, click on the entry and choose Remove. Remember, if you don't see that entry in the list, don't worry about it. You can continue on with the Rollup Update install.

Okay, I hope you made it through all of that with me. Either way, you're now free to go and install the Update Rollup 2 and you can start to enjoy the new features and benefits it has to offer. Also, don't forget that if you need any technical support with the new program, contact the manufacturer of your actual software immediately. They will be the ones who can help you the best, because they know the software better than anyone else. 

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is a free anti-virus protection tool developed by GRISOFT for home use. We invite you to join the millions of satisfied customers worldwide who have downloaded the software and now enjoy the benefits of AVG Anti-Virus Free.

New in AVG 7.5
    * Improved virus detection based on better heuristics and NTFS data streams scanning
    * Smaller installation and update files
    * Improved user interface
    * Windows Vista ready
    * and more

What you get with AVG Anti-Virus Free

yes    Easy to use
yes    Regular and automatic virus database updates
yes    Realtime protection of files and e-mails
yes    Scheduled and manual testing
yes    Windows and Linux
yes    And most of all ... great customer satisfaction!

http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5

Security experts have found a weakness in Internet Explorer 7 that could help crooks mask phishing scams, the type of attack Microsoft designed the browser to thwart.

IE 7, released last week, allows a Web site to display a pop-up that can contain a spoofed Web address, security monitoring company Secunia said Wednesday. An attacker could exploit this weakness to trick people into believing they are on a trusted Web site when in fact they are viewing a malicious page, Secunia said in an alert.

"This makes it possible to only display a part of the address bar, which may trick users into performing certain unintended actions," Secunia said. The company has created a demonstration that shows a Microsoft Web address in the pop up window, but displays content from Secunia.

The problem lies in the way Web addresses are displayed in the IE 7 address bar, a Microsoft representative said in an e-mailed statement. An attacker could exploit the issue by tricking a user to click on a specially formatted link, the representative said.

The pop-up will block the left part of the Web address, Microsoft said. "Clicking in the browser window or in the address bar and scrolling within it will display the full URL, however," the company said. In case of the Secunia example, the true Secunia URL is revealed.

An attack won't work if a Web site is known to be part of a phishing scam, Microsoft said. The IE 7 phishing shield will identify such sites and warn the user, it said. Microsoft is not aware of any attacks that actually use the reported vulnerability, the company said.

IE 7 is the first major update to Microsoft's ubiquitous Web browser in five years. Security was the No. 1 investment for the update, Microsoft has said. The phishing protection has been a major focus for Microsoft, shielding against malicious Web sites designed to trick users into handing over their personal information.

The spoofing issue, rated "less critical" by Secunia, appears to be the first genuine, publicly disclosed flaw in the new Microsoft browser. An earlier problem, disclosed a day after the IE 7 release, lies in Outlook Express, not IE 7, Microsoft has said.

Microsoft will continue to look into the problem and may provide a browser patch to fix it, the company said. In addition, Microsoft chided the anonymous discloser of the flaw. The software maker prefers that security issues be disclosed privately so it can repair them before they get publicly known. 

A day after shipping Firefox 2, Mozilla on Wednesday largely rebutted two claims of security flaws in the latest version of the Web browser.

Bug hunters appear to be in a race to uncover new security flaws in both Firefox 2 and Internet Explorer 7, which Microsoft released last week. Word of what appears to be the first publicly disclosed IE 7 vulnerability came Wednesday.

At least two bug reports that indicated they affected the new Firefox release crossed over popular security mailing lists this week. But Mozilla on Wednesday downplayed those claims.

"I would call it just noise," said Window Snyder, Mozilla's security chief. The two issues don't present any real risk to Firefox users, she said.

One of the problems is related to a vulnerability that was patched in an earlier version of Firefox. A report on the Bugtraq mailing list suggested that the issue, labeled "critical" by Mozilla, resurfaced in Firefox 2.

The report is incorrect, Snyder said. "The vulnerabilities that were identified were actually fixed."

However, there is a related problem that can cause Firefox to crash. "The exploitable issues are fixed. There is a crash, but it is a denial of service," Snyder said. "We're going to look at it and make sure there is really nothing there."

Another report on the Full Disclosure mailing list suggested that there is a flaw in Firefox 2 that could be exploited to aid in cyberscams. The report included some computer code, but not enough for Mozilla to determine whether there is a problem, Snyder said.

"We don't have enough information to identify it. If we get more information, then we will investigate," she said.

Mozilla shipped Firefox 2 on Tuesday, nearly a week after Microsoft released IE 7. Both browsers have an emphasis on security and include features such as phishing shields to protect against fraudulent, data-thieving Web sites.

"This is one of the highest-quality Firefox releases to date," said Mike Schroepfer, vice president of engineering at Mozilla. "We fixed more issues than we ever have before. All empirical and anecdotal evidence so far shows that this is one of the most solid and stable Firefox releases."

Security researchers are welcome to hunt for bugs in Firefox, Snyder said, adding that those bugs should be reported responsibly to Mozilla, instead of disclosed publicly.

"We think it is great that the security community is working so hard to help us identify bugs," Snyder said. "Once they are identified, we're able to fix them and we fix them quickly and that means customers are less at risk." 

Trend Micro, more commonly referred to as Housecall, offers free virus scans and in most cases can fix damage down by a virus or worm that your computer may have contacted.  The program works well.  The first time one uses the free program it is necessary to download a small program. Trend Micro walks you through the process.   Then the virus scans are quite simple for each return.  Go to http://housecall.antivirus.com/  then choose the link   "Scan without registering".  Follow the directions.

You should disable any anti virus program that you have running.  If you do not have a virus program I recommend that you use one of the programs offered above first and then download and install one of the free programs listed below or install any anti virus program you have purchased.
**************************************************************************************************
Free Anti Virus programs for download. 
Quite a few KCnet members use these programs and like them.
Be careful if you download a virus program and you already have one installed on your computer.  You need to at least disable the program already installed.

AVG Free
AVG Free Edition is the well-known anti-virus protection tool. AVG Free is available free-of-charge to home users for the life of the product! Rapid virus database updates are available for the lifetime of the product, thereby providing the high-level of detection capability that millions of users around the world trust to protect their computers. AVG Free is easy-to-use and will not slow your system down (low system resource requirements).
http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5

Avast
Avast has been "anti virusing" for quite awhile.  The following info comes from their download page:   Avast! Home is now free of charge for HOME users for NON-COMMERCIAL use. You can find more info here.
http://www.avast.com/eng/down_home.html
Note: This product is free for home non-commercial use after registration!
HINTS:   Click on the English Version Link and download the installation file.  Then click on the installation file and follow the directions.  You will need to return to the download page and click on the link to get the registration key.   It will be sent to you in an email after you provide some registration information.  This will give you 14 months of coverage including any updates which can be set to auto download.  You can reregister for additional free coverage at the end of the 14 months.
You will want to browse around and choose from the many options available for operation.  This process will take some time and digging.

Another good free program is:
http://www.free-av.com/
This one installs a bit easier than Avast.

**************************************************************************************************
Free Spybot and Adware programs for download.

Get Ewido anti-spyware Free
Ewido anti-spyware Free is a free anti-spyware protection tool developed by GRISOFT for home use. We invite you to join the millions of satisfied customers worldwide who have downloaded the software and now enjoy the benefits of ewido anti-spyware Free.
What you get with ewido anti-spyware Free
Easy to use
Daily database updates
Heuristics to detect unknown threats
Automatic Cleaning Engine
And most of all ... great customer satisfaction!
http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/20/lng/us/tpl/v5

Windows Defender (Beta 2) is a free program that helps protect your computer against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software. It features Real-Time Protection, a monitoring system that recommends actions against spyware when it's detected, and a new streamlined interface that minimizes interruptions and helps you stay productive.
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

Spybot - Search & Destroy 1.4 - product description
Application to scan for spyware, adware, hijackers and other malicious software.
Choose one of the sites to download from.
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html

Ad-Aware Personal provides advanced protection from known data-mining, aggressive advertising, Trojans, dialers, malware, browser hijackers, and tracking components. This software is downloadable free of charge.
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
 

Here are a few sites of many that can help you determine if an email is a hoax or real.

http://www.snopes.com/
http://vil.nai.com/VIL/hoaxes.asp
http://kumite.com/myths/
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html
http://www.scambusters.org/VirusHoaxes.html
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/hoaxes/
http://www.truthorfiction.com/
http://www.quatloos.com/