Tech Pulse 20101027: Podcast News and Announcements

Hey, Tech Pulse podcast listeners! Wow, it's so cool that you're still subscribed after almost three years without any new episodes. Just wanted to give you a brief update about the status of the podcast and a few other things.

First, as I recently blogged about here, there are two episodes from early 2008 that never got edited, but I've posted links to the unedited versions if you want to hear them. Basically what happened with Tech Pulse is that Big-O and I started MacMod:LIVE, the official podcast of MacMod.com, which was Anthony's old site for Mac modders. After that, Tech Pulse (which was a hobby, not a job) got put on the back burner. At the end of 2009, MacTech Magazine acquired MacMod. Big-O chose to focus his time and efforts on iPhone development, and I stayed on as the sole host and producer of the new show, MacTech Live.

I don't know when or if I'll get around to updating Tech Pulse, but you're more than welcome to stay subscribed to this podcast feed. I may eventually post some other stuff here as well (for example, I have some audio recordings of sessions at PodCamp AZ 2008 that I might post someday, or I may eventually do an interview that isn't relevant to MacTech but might have a more general tech appeal). For now, though, I'm focusing my podcasting energy on MacTech Live.

Also, I wanted to let you guys know that I'll be attending MacTech Conference next week, November 3rd through 5th, 2010, in Los Angeles. It's a technology conference for both IT professionals and developers with a focus on Apple's Mac OS X and iPhone/iPad platforms. If you're into Macs or other Apple technologies, you should definitely check out the details that I've posted on my personal blog, along with a link that will get you a free Apple certification or $100 off the conference registration price. All that is at https://bit.ly/MacTechConf – If you're interested in Apple technology and can make it to the conference, I'd love to meet you there.

That's it for now! Stay subscribed to the podcast, and check out my other podcasts at https://podcasts.thejoshmeister.com

You can follow me on Twitter @theJoshMeister or follow the MacTech Live podcast @MacTechLive.

Leopard Launch Special Edition - Coming Soon!

Josh covered the launch of Mac OS X Leopard last night at the Apple Store in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Check back soon for some fun and informative content, including interviews with folks standing in line (among them Victor Cajiao from the Typical Mac User podcast!), some first impressions and notes about the new OS, and exclusive photos of a couple that got married and then went running through the Apple Store—no joke! Stay tuned...

Join Us LIVE on Thursday Nights!

Starting this week, our regular recording schedule will be Thursday nights at 8 PM Pacific / 11 PM Eastern. There will likely be some weeks when we do not record an episode, and our schedule may change again; the best way to keep track of our recording schedule is to let us know that you're interested, and we'll e-mail you to let you know whenever there's an upcoming episode.

To listen live, go to talkshoe.com while we're recording and look for Tech Pulse. If you don't see us on the main page during our recording time, try the "SEE MORE" link next to "Live Now and Featured Podcasts."

Tech Pulse 20070718: New "Mac Worm," Connect to Your PC or Mac for Free, Batch Image Resizers, TextWrangler, and more!

Josh and Big-O discuss the alleged new "Mac worm" and Mac security in general, how to remotely connect to your PC or Mac for free using VNC, batch photo resizing freeware apps for Windows and Mac, TextWrangler, and more!

Notes and links related to this episode:

Opening Thoughts
We have a regular recording schedule for the time being! You can listen LIVE on Wednesdays* at 8 PM Pacific / 11 PM Eastern (except July 25th). Just look for us on talkshoe.com during the hours when we're recording. *UPDATE, 1 August 2007: We've decided to change our regular podcast schedule to Thursday nights instead.

Tech News

• Alleged Mac worm by Information Security Sell Out
  
• allegedly there's an unreleased exploit that has been tested in private—this is the so-called worm
  
• so far, this is no more a real threat than "Inqtana," another proof-of-concept "worm" for Mac OS X that was never in the wild
• there's no real evidence that it even exists; the original source is just a Blogger page that claims there's a new Mac worm
• even if it exists, it's allegedly based on a previous hole in Bonjour that Apple already patched, so Apple would simply have to release another security patch to fix it
  
• even though this thing isn't even in the wild, people are already suggesting ways in which you could prevent this from spreading to your computer
• If you're really paranoid, turn off AirPort when in public
• If you're really paranoid but you need to use a shared or public network, go to Apple menu, System Preferences, Sharing (then if desired, take note of your settings under the Services and Firewall tabs so you can restore them later). Uncheck everything under the Services and Firewall tabs, and under the Firewall tab make sure it says "Firewall On"
  
• See the comments on Slashdot and Ars Technica for more technical ideas (but try them at your own risk—especially if they involve changing system file ownership or permissions)
• Sony releases YouTube wannabe called Crackle
  

Tech Tips
Josh's

• Connect to your home computer from anywhere in the world for free using VNC
  
• Why pay for commercial software when you can do it for free?
  
• Software:
• UltraVNC (server and client apps for Windows)
• Vine Server (server app for Mac OS X, and a minimal version for Mac OS 9)
• Chicken of the VNC (client app for Mac OS X)
• PalmVNC (client app for Palm OS/Garnet), or .NET VNC Viewer (client app for Windows Mobile)
• Choose a custom port (for security through obscurity)
• Prevents casual would-be hackers from identifying that you have VNC running on your computer
  
• Any port listed as "Unassigned" by IANA should be okay; refer to http://www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers
• Choose a strong password
• Configure your software, set up port forwarding in your router, open the port in your software firewall
• Test and troubleshoot while you're at home to make sure it's working properly
  

Big-O's

• Getting magnets out of hard drives

Software/Hardware/Site etc. Picks
Josh's

• Freeware batch image resizer apps - handy if you e-mail a lot of photos
  
• Resize! for Mac OS X and Mac OS Classic, by K Studio - very simple interface, works great for basic batch resizing needs
  
• works on Windows, too, but...
  
• BIMP Lite for Windows, by Cerebral Synergy - totally awesome, TONS of features
• batch convert between image formats (BMP, PNG, JPG, GIF, TIFF, etc.)
  
• batch resize, rotate, rename, output to FTP, and lots more
• Big-O's related pick: Paint .NET for Windows
• great replacement for Microsoft's Paint app
• free as in money and source code

Big-O's

• TextWrangler from Bare Bones Software
• freeware text editor for Mac OS X with lots of nice features
• advanced search and replace features
  
• great for HTML, XML, Perl, etc. coders because it automatically color-codes for many programming languages
  

Log Out

• Don't forget to Digg us, blog about us, tell friends about us
• Add us on MySpace / follow Josh on Twitter / follow Big-O on Twitter
  
• You (our listeners) can submit story ideas by tagging pages with "techpulseideas" on del.icio.us

iPhone Review Coming Soon!

Stay tuned! One of the Tech Pulse podcasters is getting an iPhone today, and we're planning to do a special iPhone review show next week. Subscribe to the feed to get the episode as soon as it's posted!

If you want to listen to the show live while it's being recorded, we plan on recording the review 'cast on Tuesday night around 8 PM Pacific (11 PM Eastern). Just go to www.talkshoe.com around that time and look for Tech Pulse on the homepage. If there are any changes to our live show schedule, I'll post them here.

UPDATE 29 June 2007 @ 9:30 AM - Please note that the start time has changed to 8 PM Pacific. This is still a tentative date and time and is subject to change.

Welcome to the Tech Pulse Podcast!

Thanks for checking out our site! Here's a little blurb that explains who we are and what the Tech Pulse Podcast is all about:

Hosted by experienced geeks, Tech Pulse is chock full of the hottest industry news, computer tips and tricks, software and hardware picks, and more! Mac or Windows user, professional or hobbyist, you're sure to like this podcast.

Our first episode is scheduled to be recorded LIVE this Saturday, June 16, 2007, at 5 PM Pacific (8 PM Eastern). Head on over to www.talkshoe.com at that time and look for us on the main page! Here's a taste of what's on the schedule for this week:

The Tech Pulse podcasters introduce themselves, discuss Safari 3, talk about YouTube content on the Apple TV, share iPhone predictions, tech tips, and product picks, and log out.

You can subscribe to the podcast now to get the latest episodes after they're edited.