In a previous article, I went over a few tips for someone searching for the equipment they need to put on a simple podcast. I’d like to share some of my favorite podcasts with the Lockergnome community, and maybe spawn some feedback regarding podcasts they you enjoy.

I’m an avid listener to the TWiT Network which includes Leo Laporte’s many projects such as This Week in Tech, Security Now, The Daily Gizwiz, Munchcast, FLOSS, Macbreak Weekly, etc etc. These are all outstanding podcasts which are worth giving a listen to.

Another good podcast is Chris Pirillo’s own “The Chris Pirillo Show” which is filmed live on Ustream over live.pirillo.com. Chris answers questions from members of the chat room in addition to those emailed to him. It isn’t uncommon for him to release five or six “shows” in one night. They are informative and fairly entertaining.

Rocketboom is a great show featuring some of the lighter bits found in various places both online and off.

Lab Rats is a brilliantly produced show giving everyday users the tips and tricks they need to optimize, digitize, and modernize their electronics. The show hosts Andy Walker and Sean Carruthers are brilliant and have loads of useful information to share with the world.

Webnation w/ Amber Mac is very entertaining and informative. It should be noted that Amber Mac also hosts CommandN which is available in a podcast format as well as co-hosting Net at Nite with long-time friend Leo Laporte.

Cranky Geeks is a great show featuring host John C. Dvorak and a panel of guests to discuss goings on in the tech community. They often hit hot topics like Net Neutrality and whether or not bloggers are considered journalists.

Revision 3 has a large array of entertaining programs which are aimed at the tech community including Diggnation, Systm, InDigital, PixelPerfect, Geekdrome, and more.

These are some great podcasts that I subscribe to. Please feel free to add any podcasts or webcasts that you enjoy below.

Matt Ryan of MattRyan.TV

Tags: podcast, podcasts, frugal, geek, matt ryan, matt, twit, revision 3, dvorak, laporte, leo, chris, pirillo

In today’s mobile world the phone takes center stage as your biggest resource for communication, organization, and information while you’re out and about. Cell phones are becoming more and more like home computers and less like the traditional phones. There is such a variety of smartphone and PDA options out there to chose from, that it is difficult to find the deals.

Sadly, most of your browsing experience is influenced by carrier. Does your carrier have the phone you’re after, and do they offer a discount for contract sign-up or renewal? The iPhone is the only phone I have ever come across that has not offered an on-the-spot discount at the carrier. Recently, the price was reduced by $200.00 USD to prepare for the holiday season. This price drop seems as if it would cover the amount normally reduced by the carrier.

Let’s start with the iPhone. For the frugal geek, the iPhone is best avoided. The phone is brilliant in design and class. It has many features and a user interface like none other. Unfortunitely, the iPhone lacks some of the particular features that many data geeks find essential to an all-in-one unit. Smartphones today can sometimes be used as broadband modems when tethered to your laptop on the road. This is a feature missing from the iPhone and on the Edge network it is restricted to, you may find that it will hinder your browsing experience.

The Samsung Blackjack is a low cost answer to the Motorola Q and the Blackberry. It runs Windows Mobile 5.0, and boasts a 3G connection. As I understand it you’re only going to find it at at&t, so avoid it if you’re a fan of Sprint or any other incompatible carrier. The blackjack is classified by the carrier as a PDA, which makes for interesting negotiation on price points for your monthly data plan. Personally, I have a laptop connect plan with my Blackjack at 59.95/month which is a fair price for broadband data on the go. The Blackjack has a slow processor and therefor has some trouble running Skype and other high-demand programs. Skype is working on a solution and will no doubt have one before long. The keyboard is somewhat small, though it is a true QWERTY experience. Sound coming out of the Blackjack is clear and the reception is amazing. I would have to give the Blackjack my recommendation as a frugal geek’s solution to a mobile tech experience.
The Motorola Q is a comparable smartphone to the Blackjack and has a larger and more attractive screen. The larger screen comes at the cost of sleek design, and can be rather cumbersome in your pocket or on your belt. The Q runs Windows Mobile and as such has many of the same features and abilities that the Samsung Blackjack has, at a reasonable price point. It is easier to navigate than the Samsung Blackjack. As far as connectivity, the Motorola Q uses an EV-DO connection that has a larger coverage area than the Blackjack’s 3G connection. Carriers such as Verizon have a limit on even your unlimited plan, so don’t expect to be doing any browsing above 5gb/month without seeing some type of block on your service. Sprint has a less cumbersome bandwidth policy for any users looking for streaming experience on the go.

In the world of smartphones, you have a lot to chose from. You may ask why Blackberries aren’t listed here in any detail. Blackberries by RIM are a great mobile experience, at a higher price tag overall. There are deals to be found out there, though in my research, I am seeing price comparisons to the Blackjack that triple the cost of the value smartphone.

Please keep in mind that this article is one person’s experience with carriers and products in one area. You may find a completely different experience on your own. Phones are a very personal product that are more than anything dependent on their owner’s personal usage habits and tastes. If you have anything at all you’d like to add or comment on, please leave a comment below.

Matt Ryan of MattRyan.TV 

Tags: smartphone, phone, cellphone, motrola, samsung, blackjack, matt ryan, frugal, geek, mobile

So, you want to buy Windows Vista for your computer? Do you feel like shelling out hundreds of dollars for it? Of course you don’t. That’s why The Frugal Geek is here.

Windows Vista and Windows XP are widely available in many different forms out on the market. The retail version is being pushed on the market with no mention of the cheaper alternatives for those that build their own PCs and want to get a genuine copy of Windows. Luckily for us, there are much more inexpensive ways to get legal copies of the OS on our machines.

Let me start by saying that the popularity of P2P sharing communities such as BitTorrent are indeed the cheapest way to get a non-legal copy of the software, at a very extreme security cost. It has been found that the potential for pirated copies of Windows XP and Windows Vista in the P2P community being laced with malicious software designed to make your computer part of a bot net is there. It’s estimated that 100,000,000 systems in North America are part of bot nets and the owners of them don’t even know it. That’s the price you pay when you want to avoid the genuine advantage. This isn’t to say that I don’t agree with the idea of free information and software, but that is a discussion for a different blog.

Back to the task at hand, Windows on the cheap. Microsoft puts out retail versions of its operating system that is licensed to receive tech support from them. Retail versions of their OS allows end users to receive full support should anything go wrong with the software. This can be a very good thing, though it doubles the cost of the OS for a service that is rarely used.

Another version of the OS is called OEM. Many stores will label this version as being “for system builders.” The difference between this version and the retail version is a lack of support from Microsoft for the product. They will certainly give patches and updates, though the type of support OEM versions lack is phone support and general tech support should anything go wrong in the installation. OEM copies also cannot be transferred to other systems once installed. Here is a copy of Microsoft’s system builder license. For anyone that is looking for an inexpensive alternative to the retail version, this is the one for you.

To give an example of the price difference between the two versions, Windows Vista Ultimate Retail chimes in at a whopping $319.99 while the system builder version is available at a lower $189.99. I used Newegg.com for comparisons here because they happen to be my personal favorite online store for system components, though I am sure lower prices can probably be found elsewhere.

This is just one small tip for people that want to upgrade their existing Windows experience that have been stricken with sticker shock at the retail version sold at their local store. Online retailers are your best bet for buying computer equipment and software hands down. You can often find free shipping deals in addition to the amount you save on taxes if you find an out of state business.

If you have anything to add, bargains to share, or comments please leave them below.

Matt Ryan of MattRyan.TV

Tags: windows, xp, vista, cheap, low cost, budget, frugal, geek, matt ryan

To start, I will tell you what Wubi is intended to be, and then go into my review explaining what this handy little program actually does. Wubi is a Linux installer with a unique twist intended to allow Windows users to keep Windows on their drive and install a full Linux without partitioning or messing with your master boot record. Wubi allows you to install Ubuntu in various Windows systems in such a way that you can uninstall Ubuntu as if it was any other program.

My experience was sadly far from this example. I decided to install it on my HP Pavilion DV6000Z notebook alongside Windows Vista in order to have a mobile version of Linux on the road with me. During installation, Wubi experienced an error, and had to be reset. I deleted all parts of Wubi, and re-downloaded and reinstalled the program. During reinstallation, it downloaded Ubuntu 7.04 and installed that in a folder that contained a series of disk emulation files. Upon completion, Wubi asks you to reboot and try out the Ubuntu option on your windows loading screen.

I rebooted, and got the option. Once I selected it, the trouble really began. Black screen was all I could see. After a half hour of black screen, I decided to give up and uninstall Ubuntu. I received several errors in response to the different possible uninstall options available. I tried to delete the folder Wubi was in, but received an error stating the folder was not empty. I opened the Wubi folder and found it to be completely empty. This was unusual, but I thought I had the answer. I decided to delete the Wubi folder using command prompt. This didn’t work either, and I decided to format and reinstall using the restore DVD I received with my laptop.

The reinstall stopped half way through, and the computer began cycling a reboot the moment Windows came back up. I tried installing Windows XP to the laptop, and that worked, however drivers for XP on this particular laptop are apparently precious guarded secrets. At this point I slid the restore DVD back in and tried a full format and reinstall for the third time. The same problem occurred, and HP tech support was my next stop.

Two hours on the phone with HP revealed that the bios diagnostic indicated that the hard drive failed. HP decided to ship me a new hard drive, to replace the failed one. I assumed at this point that Wubi might not be responsible for this, and that it was all just bad timing. That’s when I grabbed Spinrite by Gibson Research. Spinrite is an excellent hard drive utility that has more praise than any other supposed utility of its kind I have ever used.

To my amazement, Spinrite solved the problem, and my drive is working again. From this experience, I can only conclude that Wubi is in dire need of some serious fixes before it comes out of Beta. I can only hope the actual release is less costly to a machine. On a lighter conclusion, I have to give a lot of credit to Steve Gibson for Spinrite.

In The Frugal Geek, the goal is to give you tips and suggestions on how to live a modern lifestyle and stay connected on a budget. Part of this blog is intended to give you honest reviews about cheap solutions to everyday problems. Installing Linux without disrupting your Windows environment is a common request, and I believe the people at Wubi are putting forth a great effort. My experience, however, was the result of installing Wubi on a machine that was not compatible with the software. Many name brand machines are made the same way and may have the same problem. It’s important to point out that Wubi is in Beta, and until it is out of beta, it should not be labeled as “safe”.

In an effort to keep this post from appearing to be a Spinrite ad, there are no links on the article at all. If you have any comments or suggestions please feel free to comment below.

Matt Ryan of MattRyan.TV

Tags: wubi, frugal, geek, matt ryan, spinrite, gibson, ubuntu

Just about everyone that owns a PC knows the value of a good antivirus program. There are so many programs out there at such a varying price point, it is sometimes very difficult to determine which programs offers the most value for your dollar. Every program out there will tell you it is a superior technology with leading-edge antivirus capabilities. These buzz words mean nothing when it comes down to actual testing and benchmarking. Let me begin by stating that NO program is 100% accurate. Antivirus systems are designed as a second level of protection behind the user’s own habits and practices. The best antivirus out there is yourself. Everything else is backup.

So which backup is a cut above the rest? This depends on which benchmark you’re looking at. I found this one to be quite useful when preparing for this article. It compares the features and utilities available with the different programs, and rates them on overall usefulness. There are so many things to look for when choosing and antivirus program that I won’t go in detail about here. This article will point out some of the cheaper antivirus options.

When the average consumer thinks about antivirus programs, the first brand that comes to mind is Norton. Norton has been a staple in the security industry for a number of years, and has a large amount of market share. Unfortunately, the only reason for this market share is the fact that Norton is forced on users as part of a package of shareware lumped into a new PC. Norton pays PC builders to include a trial version of their software on every system manufactured. This keeps the system price low for end users at the cost of having to uninstall all this junk software. Norton antivirus is just that, junk. In the world of antivirus, Norton is the vicious dictator that demands control over every function of a system. This drags a system down considerably, and does so for very little benefit. Many users will tell you that Norton is a bigger problem for their system than viruses would be. This is why the vast majority of security experts give uninstalling Norton as their first and chief piece of advice.

Now that the obvious eight-hundred pound gorilla is out of the way, I have two recommendations for users on a budget. Grisoft has an antivirus called AVG Free that is available to users at no charge. It comes with no adware, and no annoying pop ups asking you to buy the pro version. It’s a simple and effective antivirus that uses minimal system resources. Many industry leaders swear by this program, and I use it myself on all of my systems. It even runs efficiently on an old Dell that sports a whopping 128mb of RAM. If you’re a home user that just wants a clean and easy solution, AVG Free is my humble recommendation.

Avast by Alwil Software is also a free antivirus with much to brag about. It’s received top rankings from many leading tech review groups, and has many useful features available to home users at the splendid price tag of $0.00. For users that are looking for a free alternative to AVG Free, or are simply scouting around for a program that has features Avast carries, it is a great program. The system does come in a Linux edition for Linux users, and a U3 edition for lovers of portability via flash drives. PDA users will also find Avast to be a good solution for protecting their mobile systems.

Whatever antivirus you decide on, the most important level of protection is the user. Once you activate virii, the only true way to remove it is format and reinstall. There isn’t an antivirus on the market that can give you absolute defense. Some benchmarks out there will demonstrate that the maximum level of effectiveness is around 85%-90%.

If you have any suggestions or additions to make to this article, please make a comment below.

Matt Ryan of MattRyan.TV

Tags: antivirus, virus, virii, frugal geek, matt ryan, free, avg, norton, avast

If you own or operate a business, the idea of purchasing licenses that allow your employees the ability to create spreadsheets, write exquisite documents, design presentations, and create and edit databases is a must. For many businesses, the only logical choice is Microsoft Office. This application has become industry standard for business applications world-wide. Fortunately for the frugal geek, there are alternatives. In this article, I will outline a few of the open source and freeware alternatives to Microsoft’s Office Suite.

OpenOffice.org is the first application that comes to many people’s minds when the discussion of a free alternative comes up. The developers of Open Office have hinted that their distribution rates are in the multiple millions each week, which puts it ahead of Microsoft Office which has advertised a distribution of 1.5 million per week. Open Office provides computability to Microsoft Office documents, in addition to having a useful format of its own. The suite isn’t as pretty as some of the other options out there, though as far as productivity, it is certainly the front runner for the price.

OpenOffice.org was created by a group called StarDivision, which dubbed the project “The StarOffice Suite”. The company was founded in Germany, and was later acquired by Sun Microsystems during the summer of 1999. Sun released the source code for StarOffice which became OpenOffice.org as we know it today. Sun continues to be a chief contributor to OpenOffice.org and has implemented many of the breakthroughs on the open source project to SunOffice.

Speaking of StarOffice, it has been added to the Google Pack of software. StarOffice is a prettier version of OpenOffice.org and has several great features. You get a word processor, a drawing application, presentation, spreadsheet, and a database management program. The only thing missing from the suite that you would find in Microsoft Office is email. Email programs are readily available in open source anyway, and as a personal recommendation, Thunderbird by Mozilla is a great alternative to Microsoft mail.

Google has another office suite alternative that stores documents online. Google Docs has a useful set of programs available for someone on-the-go. The idea of editing your documents in an environment where you don’t have to worry about crashing hard drives and distribution is an excellent choice for many business people. The downside to an all-online office suite is functionality. You lose a lot of the functionality you’d find with native software, and power users may want to shy away from this otherwise amazing alternative.

If you have any tips or suggestions to add to this article, please feel free to leave a comment.

Matt Ryan of mattryan.tv

Tags: open office, openoffice.org, microsoft, office, sun, google, google docs, spreadsheet, word, mail, presentation, documents

Podcasting has become a staple in the portable media industry. Even if you don’t own the infamous iPod, you can still take advantage of podcasting in many different ways. A podcast is an audio or video recording distributed through means of an RSS (Real Simple Syndication) feed which automatically updates subscribers with the latest edition of your show. This growing trend can be quite costly in equipment and software, however it can also be done on the cheap with near-professional results.

First, let’s take a look at software. In order to edit a podcast, you’ll need a program that allows you to equalize, normalize, and reduce background noise. Currently, the best program for the job is Adobe Audition. This program has been an industry standard for editing audio for some time, and has some amazing tools and functions. The only problem with Audition is the enormous price tag. For the podcaster on a budget, Audacity is an extremely viable alternative. Audacity is open source, which means that you can download the program at no cost to you. Open source programs are also regularly updated thanks to the massive open source community that constantly tinkers away at these programs in an effort to improve on them. Audacity has a few draw backs when you compare it to Adobe Audition, such as a difficult multi-track simultaneous recording scheme, though this is minor.

The microphone you use can be one of the most important purchases for your podcast. Some podcasters get by with a simple desktop microphone, however many of the budget models out there are not broadcast quality and therefore should be avoided at all costs. There are two microphones that I have personally used, and recommend without hesitation. The first is an $80.00 microphone from Samson called the C01u. This microphone is a studio-quality condenser with stand mounts and a USB interface. The sound coming out of the C01u is clear and background noise is easily reduced by adjusting the gain. Samson provides software that allows you to control the gain of the microphone on Windows XP and Macintosh. Windows Vista comes with built in support for the C01u.

The other microphone I recommend is the Logitech USB Headset 350. This headset connects through USB and both delivers and sends amazing sound. The current recommended price on this model is $49.99USD and can be found at a variety of stores for a significant discount. You’ll find that using a headset not only allows you to save on buying quality speakers or a separate set of headphones, but also cuts down on background noise. With the C01u, it is still somewhat important to record in an area with a low amount of echo and background noise, while the Logitech headset gives you a fair amount of reduction in echo and background activity.

Podcasts often incorporate the use of multiple panelists to add to the discussion and energy level of the recording. Many podcasts that feature multiple speakers use a program called Skype to connect users from various parts of the world without sacrificing sound quality. Skype is a free program which allows the host the ability to control the quality of a call, making studio-quality conferences possible. One such podcasts that uses Skype to connect guests is This Week in Tech by Leo Laporte.

These are just a few tips to allow you to enjoy the experience of podcasting without breaking the bank. There are a lot of great resources out there for podcasters, and no one source will give you everything you need to know about putting together a quality show. Ultimately, listeners will forgive some minor flaws in quality if the content is interesting and informative. Experiment with the many open source utilities out there, and find out what works best for you.

I have a podcast of my own, in which I utilize Audacity, the Samson C01u, and the Logitech Headset 350. If you’d like to hear an example of a podcast using these products head over to The Daily PWN and give a listen.

Matt Ryan of MattRyan.TV

Tags: frugal, geek, podcast, podcasting, software, cheap, value

Welcome to this crazy experience. The editors at Lockergnome have been gracious enough to grant me this opportunity to share my experiences and tips with everyone through this amazing resource. The age that we find ourselves in now is quite interesting. We have new challenges and experiences unlike any generation before us. Our education is shifting from simple face to face storytelling and book learning experience, to a more technologically charged one. Where in the past computers were taught in a special class usually given to students during one or two brief semesters, we are now brought face to face with the reality that more and more of our studies and resources are online. We as a people have to adapt to this crazy plugged-in age we are marching into at such a rapid pace.

Music is no longer a trip to the local record store for the latest hit record. It’s becoming a collection of 1s and 0s that fill our hard drives. The challenge that we face, is discovering the best technology to carry out our modern lives without breaking our somewhat limited bank accounts. It is hard to find a quality product at a fair price these days. It’s important that there be resources available to everyone that are not only kept up to date, but free of outside influence. In an attempt to assist with spreading some of this information, The Frugal Geek was created.

I’m Matt Ryan, a lifetime broadcaster, and an aspiring technology journalist. You won’t find perfectly formed sentences, carefully placed plugs, or enterprise-level editing here. I pride myself on being just another tech enthusiast, with stories to tell and experiences to share. I’m a blogger, a podcaster, and one of the cheapest geeks you’ll ever meet.

The Frugal Geek is about highlighting products that can be weighed not only by value, but by their usefulness and quality compared to other products in their category. It’s about surviving in the modern age and having the equipment you need to enjoy technology, without giving up a sense of quality and usefulness.

Thanks for checking out this blog,
Matt Ryan of mattryan.tv

Tags: frugal, geek, the frugal geek, cheap, gadgets, matt ryan