Personal Tech: iPod Nano and Windows Mobile 5.0

The Washington Post's Rob Pegoraro will be online to answer your personal tech questions and discuss recent reviews of the iPod Nano and Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system.

A transcript follows.

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Rob Pegoraro: Greetings--lots of questions today about iPods and Windows Mobile handhelds, things I've written about in my last two columns. Let's get to work...

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Silver Spring, MD: Rob - I think it was a mistake for Apple to cancel the Mini MP3 players. They are very popular in the D.C. metro area, especially with women. Do you think the Nano will win hearts and minds as well as the Mini? At the very least, Apple should offer the Nano in multiple colors.

washingtonpost.com: Apple Wins Big With Little Nano (September 18, 2005)

Rob Pegoraro: As anybody who's actually seen my can attest, I may not be the world's greatest judge of fashion. But I don't see the nano offering any less of a fashion-type appeal than the mini; it only comes in two colors, but it's also REALLY THIN. It's like a piece of technological jewelry in its own right. (Also, if you really want to get an iPod nano in some other color, Apple sells a pack of rubberized cases--"nanotubes"--in a rainbow of hues.)

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Washington,DC: Posting early, as I have a meeting later today.

I've followed your advice over the years regarding Palm products - I bought a Tungsten E, and have just purchased a Treo 650. I'm enjoying them both - but have a small problem that I'm hoping you can help me resolve.

The TE seems to run on an older operating system that supports Documents to Go v6. The T650 supports Documents to Go v7. Both handhelds are synced to the same computer (and syncing them to separate computers is not an option).

When I sync the TE, Documents to Go v7 is automatically installed on the TE. The primary reason I continue to use the TE is as a small laptop (it has a larger screen than the T650, and I have the wireless keyboard that works with both). Unfortunately, Documents to Go 7 does not run on the TE.

Question: How do I resolve this?

Many, many thanks for your help!

washingtonpost.com: Palm Teams With Microsoft for Smart Phone

Rob Pegoraro: The Tungsten E and the Treo 650 run on almost the same software--it's an exceedingly minor difference between the two. DataViz, DTG's developer, says that version 7 runs on both handhelds, too. So it has to be some other problem... do you have both version 6 and 7 installed on the Treo? What sort of message do you get when you try to run 7?

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Camp Springs, MD: I was told by the sales clerk that I absolutely -had- to have a USB 2.0 to buy a Nano. I have a 3 yr old Windows XP laptop with a slow USB connection, but speed isn't a problem; I can hook it up at night to download. Do I -have- to have the faster USB since I have Windows?

Rob Pegoraro: No, you don't. It will just take a really long time to sync a nano, at least an hour.

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Bethesda, MD: It was interesting that so much of today's Treo 700m demo was stylus-free, and that they've incorporated the spelling contacts-lookup into the address book. These are both things that you complained about in your article.

Another nice feature demoed was the ignore-call-but-SMS back to caller ("I can't talk now").

As a dyed-in-the-wool Palm afficianado, the questions are:

1. (when) will Palm release Wifi drivers for the Treo 650?

2. when will Palm release EDVO support for th 650 or a successor?

3. (When) will Windows mobile be palatable enough to make the switch

Unrelated question: when will the 700m find its way to a reasonably-priced carrier? Verizon has a great reputation, but its wireless data rates are much higher than Sprint's & T-Mobile's.

Rob Pegoraro: For years, I've wondered what Palm might be able to do with Windows Mobile--it's much better at hardware design than many of the Pocket PC manufacturers. (One tiny example: The power adapter for a Treo is a tiny little pod that plugs into the wall and connects directly to the Treo; the Axim X51v's power adapter comes in three separate parts that combine to take up as much space as the handheld itself.)

I've given up wondering when Palm will ship WiFi drivers for any of its handhelds, since they've been so late with the ones they have kicked out. It's crazy, BTW, that you even need machine-specific drivers; whoever added WiFi support to the Palm OS did a horrible job of it.

I don't think the 650 can support EVDO at all with its current hardware; this isn't something you can add with a software upgrade, because you need a different radio inside.

Every other Treo has wound up being available from multiple carriers, so I would be surprised if it wasn't available from Sprint by perhaps mid-2006.

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Sydney, Nova Scotia: My Mozilla Firefox web browser refuses to open

I deleted the program and tried to reinstall but get apopup telling me that Restrictions prevent me from installing this program.

Rob Pegoraro: You need to talk to your IT department about allowing you to reinstall it, then. (You can only get a message like that if you've got a limited user account, which is the case at many offices but almost no homes.)

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Washington, DC: I'm new to the iPod world and am considering purchasing one. I do have one question. For most or all of the pod-cast that can be downloaded for listening pleasure at an individual's convenience, are these shows kept on the device or only available once?

Thanks, Jackie

Rob Pegoraro: Podcasts are kept on both your computer and your iPod; iTunes lets you set how long you want to keep old episodes around, which can be for as long as you want.

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Manassas, VA: I just got a pesky virus in my computer that simply doesn't want to go away. It appears as C:WINDOWS/Nail.exe. I have antivirus software, firewall, you name it...and it still won't go away.

Any suggestions?

Rob Pegoraro: I've heard realy bad things about that virus. Try using the removal instructions at Symantec's site:

http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/adware.betterinternet.html

(Symantec also offers a free program to remove Nail.exe alone, if you don't have Norton AntiVirus installed.)

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Arlington, VA: Last year, I had both satellite companies come out to my house and tell me they couldn't provide me TV because of a tree. Have any of the companies invested since then in a satellite that is in a new position in the sky? Is there any other hope for me besides Comcast?

Rob Pegoraro: Yes--a chainsaw :) (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

TV-broadcasting satellites occupy only a few spots in orbit. First, they need to stick to a geosynchronous orbit, 22,000 miles up, that will keep them parked over the same spot on Earth at all times. Second, they need an orbital slot that will allow them to cover as much of the U.S. as possible.

So while a geosynchronous sat parked over, say, the western Atlantic might get the signal past your tree, it wouldn't net nearly enough subscribers to recoup its launch and operating costs.

So for now, you've got Comcast. Verizon is rolling out its Fios service through Arlington, however; when that arrives--if Verizon keeps the same very, very competitive pricing it's offered in other markets--you'll have a solid alternative to Comcast.

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Upper Marlboro, MD: Rob, I've had a home network for several years now but ever since installing McAfee Wireless Network Security (MWNS) on my laptop, the other computers on my network can "see" the laptop but can't access its files, and the laptop can't see the other computers at all. I installed MWNS on another network PC and it requested permission from a PC already running MWNS but no corresponding dialog popped up on the laptop where I could grant access for the second PC to join the network. This is frustrating me no end, as I don't want to uninstall MWNS because I like how easy it makes the job of securing my wireless network. What do you suggest? Thanks!! Luceele.

Rob Pegoraro: I'm not familiar with this product, but I don't think you need it--it doesn't do anything that you couldn't accomplish your regular WiFi software and a good firewall. In general, I'm leery of slapping on multiple layers of security software. You need some protection, but double-baggin' it tends to cause more problems than it solves.

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Apple Nano vs. Other mp3 players : With the advent of the mini iPod and the color iPod, I've stubbornly stayed by my mantra: I don't want to be converted to an Apple consumer...I don't want to go the dark side. All caused by my belief that Apple's success is based on pretty packaging and a phenomenal marketing group. I'm so tempted by Apple Nano's slim style, but for $299, you can easily get a competitor's mp3 player with 20 gb, instead of 4 gb. For the price, what's the rationale for buying a nano?

Rob Pegoraro: Uh, because the 4-GB nano only costs $249, not $299?

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Arlington, Va.: Have you noticed that the merged Sprint-Nextel company has adopted Nextel's yellow color scheme in its advertising? Is this a deliberate effort by Sprint to try to change its corporate image, given its reputation for worse-than-average customer service?

washingtonpost.com: Sprint Nextel: Merger Ahead of Schedule (September 22, 2005)

Rob Pegoraro: I have no idea at all about what sort of decisions go into these logo/brand changes. (My only thought about the new Sprint logo so far has been "hey, isn't that the Amtrak logo turned on its side?")

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Washington, DC: Hi Rob. We have digital cable and TiVo. The major hole in our setup is the inability to record programs in a portable and persistent format, like a DVD. (E.g., when our friends fell behind on Six Feet Under, we had to invite them over to watch episodes we'd already watched, rather than give them a DVD.) The obvious answer is a DVD recorder. However, I'm hearing ominous whispers about restrictions on recording being imbedded into shows and movies. The last thing I want is to buy a DVD recorder and then find that I can't actually record anything other than home movies. Where do you see this going? Thanks.

Rob Pegoraro: The simplest solution to your issues--and for TV watchers in general, I think--is a digital video recorder with a built-in DVD recorder. So you can time-shift programs onto the hard drive, then copy them to a DVD whenever you want a permanent copy. But there's only one model of TiVo, the Humax box, that incorporates a DVD burner, and I've yet to see any DVR sold by a cable or satellite operator with a built-in DVD recorder. (This caused me no end of annoyance when a Dish Network DVR's hard drive died, taking several dozen hours of programming with it.)

Your concern about copying restrictions being enforced by hardware like TiVo boxes is well placed; TiVo seems a little too willing to do Hollywood's bidding in this manner. But: If you don't mind having to wait for a real-time copy, you can always plug a separate DVD recorder into a TiVo with analog video cables, then copy a saved program to disc.

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For Camp Springs (USB 2.0) ...: ... you probably have a PCMCIA ("PC card") slot available in your laptop. Just buy a USB 2.0 card for that slot ... it should only cost $20 or so. E.g., the Zonet ZUN2200 at buy.com or the HEISEI HU-232CB at newegg.com

Rob Pegoraro: Thanks!

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Washington, DC: Rob - my problem with the Nano is not the lack of colors, but the fact that the pencil-thin body seems prone to breaking in half. Are we going to hear from disgruntled consumers about how weak these devices are?

Rob Pegoraro: Based on my own testing and that of others , I don't think you have to worry about breaking the nano in half--the kind of trauma necessary to stop an iPod nano from working will also probably stop *you* from working as well.

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Silver Spring: for the Ipod waverer:

You can cost-justify it if you're time is worth ANYTHING to you. What takes hours and is a headache on most MP3 players is easy and makes sense with Ipod and itunes.

My dad has an ipod, my brother has an iriver. I spent 20 minutes getting dad set up and three hours for brother. I got six calls from brother on how to get things done, none from dad.

And brother is smarter, more technical than dad.

see?

Rob Pegoraro: Thanks...

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Burtonsville, MD: I have Windows 2003 Server on my laptop HP/Compaq Presario X1000, but I have never been able to use the Centrino wireless connection because it appears there is no driver for the 2003 server. There are only drivers for Windows XP. I bought it refurbished with XP Home installed but I took that off and installed Win 2003 Server instead. Now I can't use wireless hotspots in the libraries or at airports etc. What is the solution? Is there HP Presario X1000 driver for Win 2003 server?

Akin

Rob Pegoraro: This doesn't make sense to me at all. 2003 doesn't employ a different driver architecture from XP... what does HP sell? For that matter, why did you put Server 2003 on instead of XP Pro, which is all that anybody using a laptop should need?

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Washington, D.C.: And yes, turned on its side is how you'd find your train if Sprint ran Amtrak.

Rob Pegoraro: hahaha

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Arlington, VA: Rob,

Please help. I was planning on buying my wife an iPod for her birthday (at her "suggestion") but recently found out that they all run on Windows 2000 and above. We are running ME with a 4-year old machine and do not feel the upgrade to a new OS would be worth the money. I've seen software ($30) that will enable you to use the Ipod with 98 and ME, but I don't trust it, plus I don't feel the need to buy more stuff to make my original purchase work. I've seen people with a Windows based player (I believe), but know nothing about them. All my wife would like to do is load CD music and download music from the internet (no pics). I see iTunes requires Windows 2000 and above as well. So my question is, "What are my options?" Thanks!

Rob Pegoraro: Get the $30 program--Mediafour's xPlay (www.mediafour.com). It will do the tasks you mentioned; what you can't do is shop for music on the iTunes store, but it sounds like you're not interested in that.

BTW, I hope your machine has USB 2.0 built in, or can have it added via PCI or PC Card. Otherwise, you best be patient while loading music on the device.

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To the Apple Skeptic: Why pay 249 for the nano instead of the same for a 20 g (either iPod or other)? Simple. (Disclosure, I have a 60 and a nano4.) Two reasons: size isn't everything, unless you are going to be away from your computer for the next month, 4 gbs is plenty. Second, the nano doesn't skip, every hard drive skips, my ipod does it at about 25 minutes, the nano never does, you can run a marathon with it, and never have a skip.

But by all means, buy an inferior product simply because it isn't designed as well, if it makes you happy. I know three people who left the iPod world because of the skipping issue, they are all back on board. Go use one, then say it's all marketing.

Rob Pegoraro: The "Apple Skeptic" seems to have struck a nerve.

I'm not sure where I stand on the big iPod-versus-little iPod issue. The idea of being able to carry Every Song I Own on a pocket-sized device is quite appealing. OTOH, the nano is so darn thin. I suppose I'm also curious to see if the larger iPod will gain any extra features, such as video playback, in its next release.

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Bethesda, Md.: I'm ready to buy several flat screen tvs - between 20" and 36"- but am totally confused about what to look for or consider. I've read lots about LCD vs. Plasma, but can't tell what's really HDTV, if any. I don't trust the salespeople at the retailers because, as a former consumer electronics company employee, I know many times they are pushing the brands that pay "spiffs" from the store, the distributors or manufacturers and aren't really giving the best advice, but looking out for their best self interest. They are not necessarily the same as mine.

Is there a single HDTV standard yet?

As a Comcast subscriber, I get weekly mailings telling me to upgrade to digital, but it never says what I will have to pay to get the same programming I have now. And it comes with lots of things I have no interest in whatsoever. Got any suggestions on the hardware? What about my own satellite dish?

Bob Gelman

Rob Pegoraro: No, there isn't a single HDTV standard--there are 18 total digital-TV standards, which include four or so HDTV versions. Here's a Help File item I wrote about how to tell what's what by looking at the right specs on the box.

Comcast digital cable is really analog cable plus some digital channels--you pay extra compared to what you do now to get an extra set of channels, some in higher quality than before--but not high-definition.

Going with satellite will save you plenty of money unless you only get basic cable, or you want to watch the HDTV feeds of local network affiliates and can't get their signals over the air; the satellite broadcasters can't yet deliver local stations' HD feeds. (DirecTV plans to offer that extra set of programming at the end of the year, and Dish Network says it will sometime next year, I think.)

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Richmond, VA: Earlier you mentioned avoiding double layers of security software. Does this apply to firewalls as well. When I recently bought a new pc, I installed zonealarm and I already had the xp firewall turned on. After installing zonealarm, I had problems connecting to my dsl connection, so I uninstalled it Is the windows firewall sufficient or should I look into the problem with zonealarm and my dsl connection. Thanks

Rob Pegoraro: The Windows firewall is sufficient--provided you've got XP Service Pack 2 installed, which makes it much easier to administer than before. Third-party firewalls don't provide any more protection; all they can do is block programs that have already infected your computer from transmitting some info that the Windows firewall might let through.

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Washington, DC: Got a brand new HDTV 3 weeks ago. Love it. But I'm having problems that the picture is horrible for the first 10 minutes and then it 'pops' in and it looks fine. Cable guy said it's the TV and TV says it's the cable. TV works great other wise...

Could it be the HDMI connection? I have heard of problems...

Rob Pegoraro: Dunno. What kind of set is this--plasma, LCD, DLP, CRT?

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Louisville, KY: My biggest problem with iPod-mania is that I love iTunes, I think the iPod interface is terrific, and I Apple has made an easy to use, streamlined product. That said, I was -this- close to breaking down and buying a mini over the summer and I'm glad I didn't, because here comes the nano. Why can't Apple make announcements about upcoming products? It seems kind of cheap they would entice people to buy their current products without them knowing of stuff in the future.

Rob Pegoraro: I can assure you that you're not the first Apple customer to say this. But Apple has almost never provided any sort of guidance like what you describe; they've got to have their surprises when they announce products.

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Saint Louis, MO: Got an iPod shuffle 1G for my birthday in June. Love it and love the new Nano, but just read a site specific to its LCD screen scratching and cracking with no abuse. What is actually happening to the screens and how often? Is Apple taking any steps to fix design defects, if any?

Rob Pegoraro: The screen on the iPod nano I reviewed does show some fine scratches on the front after a few weeks of knocking around the inside of various pockets and bags. But I see the same kind of minor cosmetic damage on the screen of an iPod color next to it. And in no case does this get in the way of seeing what's on the screen. Bottom line, if you want to keep an iPod or any other sort of pocketable electronics looking scratch free, you have to get a carrying case. And that can be its own obstacle, to judge from the thick padded cases of the two Windows Mobile devices I tried last week.

FWIW, I can't say that I took good care of this iPod in general--as I wrote in the review, it accidentally slammed into a kitchen floor hard enough to cause half the LCD to go blank. (If you must know, I was shaking it to see if it could be made to skip [even though I knew the answer] and it, uh, slipped out of my hand.)

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Alexandria, VA: I am happy with my iPod Shuffle, and extra music functions will just confuse me.

Does the public really want to manage playlists on a one inch-square screen? Isn't that what PCs and Macs are for?

Rob Pegoraro: It all depends on the interface you have to use--with the iPod, Apple has done a first-rate job on making things like playlist management possible and even easy. Its competitors have not.

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Louisville, KY: Rob,

Have you heard about record companies complaining that $.99 is a good starting point for mp3s, and that the iTunes Music Store should be selling hit singles for more? Can you think of a better way for big record studios to encourage the exact piracy that iTunes has helped stop?

washingtonpost.com: Apple, Record Labels to Face Off Over Pricing

Rob Pegoraro: Yes, I've been following this story with no small amount of disbelief. Funny how the labels don't seem to think price competition should work the other way--how about letting indie labels, with vastly lower production costs, charge less than 99 cents?

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Dulles, VA: I have the High Definition package through DirecTV and a few months ago I shelled out $750 for one of their receivers with TiVo built into it. I have heard that DirecTV is going to introduce Local Channels in High Def in the Washington metropolitan area by the end of 2005, but that this will be broadcast in MPEG 4 format. Well, as it turns out, the DirecTV HD receiver with TiVo that I just purchased only receives MPEG 2 format. DirecTV has advised that they will exchange receivers with their customers when they introduce the new MPEG 4 HD broadcast to the Washington area, but I have not heard a specific date when MPEG 4 DirecTV HD receivers with TiVo will be available for trade in. Do you happen to know?

Rob Pegoraro: I know nothing about this--still. DirecTV has been spectaclularly uninformative about this transition since first announcing it in January. That's why I recommended against buying that HDTV TiVo back in April . Sorry...

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Fairlington, VA: I noted that you said the new iTunes has bugs. I'm also a little confused. I love the idea of music folders and playlists underneath that, which iTunes allows in its program. But my iPod still lists playlists the old fashioned way. Is that the way it should be? I assumed creating folders in iTunes would create like folders in my iPod, but I could be missing something.

Rob Pegoraro: You're not missing anything; Apple somehow didn't think to add this same feature to the software on the iPod. I have to think it will be coming soon, just because it seems so blindingly obvious.

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Tysons Corner, VA: When attempting to install Panda's antivirus software, I get a message that it can't install because Norton is already installed. I've uninstalled Norton using the add/remove software utility (WinXP Home) but some components seem to not want to entirely uninstall. How do I go about manually erasing all traces of Norton (which would never successfully install in any event)?

Rob Pegoraro: Follow the instructions in this Symantec tech-support article .

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Reston, VA: Hello Rob Could you remind us how to get at and remove entries from the autofill feature in FireFox? Can't seem to find that in the help...

Rob Pegoraro: Here's a link to the Help File column on that.

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Alexandria, VA: Rob --

Is there any reason a Comcast DVR would refuse to record one channel? For some reason, it does fine on everything else, but refuses to record, slo-mo, or do anything with Channel 5. Do they have a disagreement with Comcast, or is my DVR Democratic?

Thank you.

Rob Pegoraro: No idea about this one. What'd Comcast say?

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Springfield, VA: How big (memory-wise) is the Nano? The only stats that seem to be available point to "1,000 songs". But that's not really quantifiable at all, of course. Do you know what the real bottom line is in terms of memory? Thanks!

Rob Pegoraro: It comes in 2 and 4-gigabyte sizes. Actual capacity is a little less; the 4-gig model I tested offered 3.7 GB of usable space.

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Maryland: Hi Rob-

Verizon FIOS is coming my way (lines are buried and done in the neighborhood). Is there any truth to the idea that they remove the copper wiring coming into your house and make it so that fiber is your only option? Would that mean, supposing I don't like FIOS, that I can't give it up? Would they run my phoneline for the same price over fiber?

Rob Pegoraro: Correct, getting Fios installed does involve crossing the telecom Rubicon; once the fiber's been connected to your home, the copper line is gone.

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Berkeley, CA: It seems that Apple kept the nano such a closely guarded secret that third-party accessories won't be in the pipeline for a few months. I'm wondering if there is or will soon be a case that I can clip on my belt coming from Apple or a third-party soon or is the nano really intended for use attached to a lanyard? I want to wait until there are decent cases for the nano available first before getting one so that I don't scratch it up. Are the lanyard earbuds sold separately or are they included with the nano? Do the earbuds that come with the nano include a remote?

Thanks, David

Rob Pegoraro: I'm sure there will soon be plenty of belt clips and cases for the nano--the accessories market is where you find some really good profit margins. Out of the box, the nano only includes the regular headphones, without a lanyard or remote control.

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Baltimore, MD: Hi Rob! I'm submitting early because I have a meeting scheduled for the time of your chat. Today's column on Microsoft's mobile device reminded me of a question I have been meaning to ask you about a mobile device...for Mac. I just purchased a 2 GB Powerbook G4 laptop computer and am looking to invest in a portable handheld device that will cleanly sync up with that home computer and my work computer (a new G5 Mac). I am designer and so need something Mac based. I want something very simple and cost-efficient. Ideally it would have a planner/ scheduler and maybe a way to check email. I definitely don't want something with a cell (too large to carry since sometimes I will need a cell without the planner & email stuff since this is more for during the week and travels, not weekends). I have narrowed it down between a Palm product and Blackberry but realize most handheld device operators do not cater to Macs so I'm feeling a bit lost. Like I said, I would love to minimize my cost while having something easy to use with my computers. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Rob Pegoraro: Well, the Blackberry doesn't ship with any Mac software, while Palms ship with only mediocre Mac software (which can, I'm told, be upgraded if you buy Mark/Space's Missing Sync). So that should settle it for you.

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Rocky Point, NC: I'm considering purchasing a new Apple computer, but I've heard that Apple is switching to Intel Processors in 2006. Do you recommend purchasing a new G5 now or would you recommend waiting until the new Apple Intel computers come out on the consumer market?

Eric

Rob Pegoraro: Apple says it will have consumer-oriented Macs running on Intel processors by June. That's not that long from now, so if you've got a Mac in working order I'd limp along until then. But Apple also said that pro-oriented Intel Macs (which might be what you're looking for, since you mentioned a G5 specifically) would arrive a year later.

But if you need a new computer now, you need a new computer now. A PowerPC-based one will run slightly more Mac software than an Intel-based one, at least at the start; the only thing you'd definitely lose out on would be the option to run Windows alongside the Mac OS, which an Intel machine would allow.

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Fairlington, VA: Your sister publication Newsweek recently said LCD HDTVs do not play video games -- like Halo -- well. I want a new HDTV in the 32 inch range, and was about to buy an LCD. That comment gives me pause. Is it true that video games are blurrier on LCDs?

Rob Pegoraro: That depends more than anything on the quality of the LCD. The figure to watch out for is "refresh rate"; I'm told that anything 12 ms or lower should work fine.

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los angeles CA: Rob -

All of a sudden, the graphics on my NYTimes web page on Firefox dropped out. Not other web sites on Firefox. And not NYT graphics on I/E.

Any thoughts?

Jon

Rob Pegoraro: Guess you'll have to stop reading the NYT, then :)

(Seriously: I don't know what's going on with your browser, since that paper shows up properly in this copy of Firefox.)

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Reston, VA: Rob, I have Dish Network for video (need it for the international channels it offers), cable for internet access and over the cable, VoIP. If I switched to "naked DSL" for the internet and VoIP service, what will I be losing? Will it cost less? Thanks!

Rob Pegoraro: You won't lose anything except, perhaps, faster download speeds; cable packages generally offer quicker downloads than DSL, although both are more than fast enough for most folks. (I.e., are you actually noticing the extra speed of cable?)

Cost should be a bit less, given how much extra cable operators charge customers who only get Internet access from cable, not TV programming. (Comcast--the operator in Reston--charges $15 extra, for $58 total for cable Internet access.)

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Arlington, Va.: So if FIOS has to run fiber optic lines, does that mean people like me in a high rise full of copper wiring is out of luck?

I just got Comcast's HD DVR and I have to say I am quite impressed. I had a two year old HD box of theirs and the new one is light years better.

Rob Pegoraro: I think so, although I would imagine that Verizon will make sure that new construction gets a Fios hookup--and that each new building's management sticks a Fios flyer under every new resident's door.

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Washington, D.C.: I have a 4 GB iPod mini. Is the 4GB Nano considered an upgrade from the mini or just a slimmer version?

Rob Pegoraro: Both. It's slimmer but it also adds a color screen, so you can do things like view photos on it.

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Rochester, NY: Hi Rob, A couple of beginner questions on the nano.

1st, to load cd's do I have to put and keep them on the hard drive (which isn't large) to put on the nano?

2nd, do I need a receiving software like i-podder or is what i-tunes is?

just came across your Q&A, thanks for the help.

Rob Pegoraro: 1: Correct.

2: iTunes is the only program you need (provided you run Win 2000 or XP or Mac OS X 10.3 or 10.4)

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Ashburn, Va.: Looking for a PDA-phone. Would you recommend the new Sprint phone you reviewed over the Nextel Blackberry? I am mostly wanting to surf web, track appts., have contacts for calls. Don't really care much about e-mail. Thanks.

Rob Pegoraro: Yes, get that (or a Treo 650) over the Blackberry. The Blackberry does do e-mail well, but it still doesn't offer an off switch--you can't tell the thing to check e-mail only when you want to. Also, the Blackberry's personal info-management software (contacts, calendar, etc.) is pretty much horrible. The people who designed this went out of their way to ignore several decades' worth of lessons about interface design.

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Alexandria, Va.: Why an iPod? Ease of use - and they stand behind their product. A friend's busted in less then a year, they gave her a new one.

As for the Comcast DVR not recording - mine started doing that and I just brought it back and got a new one from Comcast - no muss no fuss.

Rob Pegoraro: Thanks, Alexandria!

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Arlington, Va.: The cult of iPod is quite impressive. It seems funny that people who have iPods get so mad when anyone suggests that there are other, cheaper players that are just as good or better. I have a 30GB Creative Zen NX that I have had for a couple of years. It has never skipped on me, I could buy an extra battery to have charged up and ready to go which is nice for traveling, and it can hold every song I own. Fits easily in my pocket. It cost about $200 when I bought it. Ripping my CD collection and loading the songs on the device was simple but time consuming as it would be with hundreds of CDs and DVDs. Sure, an iPod may look a LITTLE better, but when it's in my pocket no one can see it. I set it on shuffle mode and let it do its thing. Yeah, the iPod nano is cute and if somebody gave one I would probably use it, but the cost per megabyte is awfully high for that thing.

Rob Pegoraro: A contray view on the iPod.

My 2 cents' worth on this: Every time I've asked a reviewer to test out competing devices, then tell me if they're as easy/elegant as an iPod, the answer has been "no." And if you want to make the argument that design and style are superficial aspects that shouldn't play any role in people's buying decisions, I think you first have to explain the existence of, say, the clothing and automotive industries before tackling MP3-player economics.

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Maryland: Hi Rob-

Hopefully the black helicopters won't start circling if you answer this questions, but:

How would Verizon know if I share my high-speed connection with a neighbor? Assuming we are both 'normal' to light internet users and don't use Kazaa or any nonsense like that?

Of course this is hypothetical and I would never do this.

Rob Pegoraro: As you say, there'd be no way for you to know. (A friend has done this with a Verizon connection for a year or two without any problems.)

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Glover Park: In response to the question regarding a PDA-type device that links to a Mac, if e-mail capability is not essential, an iPod would work--right?

Rob Pegoraro: Wrong, I think; the prior poster wanted to be able to edit appointments and addresses on the go. (If that wasn't the case, then, yes, an iPod would be a good fit.)

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WDC: Are phones like the ROKR and Sony Ericsson's W800 going to be competition for the iPod? MP3 capability has been available on most new phones but listening to music is a hassle on them. But these new models address the usability issue. Your thoughts?

Rob Pegoraro: The ROKR's no competition at all. Haven't tried the W800 but hope to soon...

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Annandale, VA: About something else.... As far as I can tell, no-one has exploited the Firefox or Netscape security holes. Isn't it still safest to use those browsers in spite of the spate of security problems reported?

washingtonpost.com: Security Fix: New Netscape Browser Holes Exposed

Rob Pegoraro: Yes, but make sure you keep up with their security updates. (Firefox shipped a 1.07 update last week; Netscape, however, has yet to get an update--yet another reason to ignore that in favor of the browser it's built upon, Firefox.)

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Burtronsville, MD: Hi Rob, I'm in the market for an iPod-like MP-3 player like the ones you reviewed a few weeks ago. I'd like to get one with FM and recording capability like the Creative Zen or the iRiver but am concerned that I won't be able to use any of my iTunes downloads without converting them to MP-3s (a convoluted process involving burning CDs and then re-importing them as MP-3s). Are there no players other than iPods that read protected AAC audio files? Thanks.

washingtonpost.com: Non-iPods Build In the Extras (August 28, 2005)

Rob Pegoraro: No, there aren't. That's Apple's decision, so you'd have to direct your complaints to the management there.

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Arlington, VA: Really enjoy your column. I'm in the market for a digital TV (sized less than 40 inches). If I have the room for it, is there any reason other than style and weight to go with a plasma or LCD TV over a traditional set? The traditional sets appear to cost less, and Consumer Reports rated the picture quality of the digital traditional sets equal to, or better than, the digital LCD or plasma TVs. Thanks.

Rob Pegoraro: Size is one reason--the biggest CRT I've seen anytime lately was 36 inches, but that maximum size may be down to 32. I think depth and weight are worth considering too, as well as power consumption. The differences in picture quality are really small these days; personally, I know I'm never buying another CRT again.

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Greensboro, NC: Hi Rob,

Is it really a good idea to wait on purchasing a new mac if all your software is compiled to run on the PPC chips?

Where will the bigger performance hit be, with a slower PPC processor and down the road incompatibility or with Rosetta running all your PPC-oriented software?

Rob Pegoraro: The tradeoff isn't quite like that. If you buy an Intel Mac, by next summer I'd expect that most popular PowerPC (i.e., "PPC") programs will have been revised to speak Intel fluently; they won't need to work through Rosetta, the translation software that will ship on Intel Macs. (And which I've read and heard is quite fast in practice.)

Put it this way: If you regularly engage in work that maxes out your processor--say, editing video in iMovie--then you've got more of a reason to wait for an Intel Mac.

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Nano breaking...: I wondered about that when I got my shuffle, but that thing is as strong as diamonds. I've dropped it, throw it, temporarily lost the cap, gotten stuff stuck in the switch, and it just keeps on trekkin'! I love my little shuffle! My only complaint is that the lanyard, which is white along with the rest of the cute little player, has gotten dingy over time.

Rob Pegoraro: If you keep abusing your shuffle like that, the poor little guy is going to turn on you one of these days...

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Lawrenceville, Ga.: I've been using Palm devices, beginning with the Handspring Visor, and was considering a move to the Treo 650. I'm hesitant now because Palm says its next generation Treo will be Windows-based. I fear being left with an obsolete OS, forcing me to upgrade before I need to do so. What are your thoughts?

Rob Pegoraro: I don't think the Palm OS is going away--but, as I wrote yesterday, it can't just stand still either. The fact that PalmSource, the developers of the Palm OS, just got bought should be proof enough that there's active interest in expanding this market; now it's up to the new management to get things moving again.

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re HDMI problem: the TV is a new 42" Sony LCD projection.

Rob Pegoraro: That doesn't clear things up much, I'm afraid. Try this: Buy or borrow a cheap off-air TV antenna and see if the problem is duplicated with that signal. If it is, then your cable signal isn't at fault, and you need to call Sony and/or the store to get your set looked at or replaced.

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Mt. Pleasant, Washington, DC: Hey, Rob,

There is work-around for iTunes/iPod users who listen to classical music and don't want the annoying gaps between tracks. There's an option to "Join CD Tracks" under the Advanced Menu when ripping CD's (it doesn't work on music already imported into iTunes). The drawback is the extended tracks are harder to navigate when you want to jump to a particular section or pickup where you left off.

Rob Pegoraro: Thanks. That does work, but I can't help thinking that it can't be that hard for Apple to add a gapless-playback option to its iPod software.

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Germantown, MD: Do you see Apple improving the iPod Nano in the near future to bring it into parity with the previous top-of-the line iPod Mini (e.g. 6 Mb of storage and Firewire interface)? What are your feelings about the feasibility and timing of that?

Rob Pegoraro: More storage, sure; that always happens in the business. But I don't expect FireWire compatibility. Apple chose to build the nano around circuitry that only supports USB, and the case for it to include FireWire later on will only be weaker (as older machines that lack USB 2.0 are retired).

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Irvine, CA: Rob - Looking for a backup solution for my home PC, circa 1999 running Win 98SE. Getting nervous as I have never backed up the entire contents of my 30 GB internal drive. I have USB 1.1. Most of the external HDs offer USB 2 and/or Firewire. Will any of these large External HDs (Maxtor One-Touch or Seagate's pushbutton backup)work? And would my computer have any trouble recognizing these drives? Thanks.

Rob Pegoraro: The USB drives will work, but very slowly. Realistically, you should be putting some money aside for a new computer. Six years is a long time in computing; upgrading your existing machine isn't cost-effective, so when it breaks you're going to need a new one.

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West Milford, NJ: Rob, since you went on about the difficulties of entering a WEP password on the new Windows Mobile does this mean it doesn't support WPA yet?

Rob Pegoraro: I believe it does support WPA; the access points I tried only had WEP active, though.

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Washington, DC: Looking at pictures of the Ipod Nano, it actually seems too small to me. I've always thought the Mini was the perfect size--not as bulky and heavy as the 20 gig Ipod, but big enough so that you can easily read the screen and work the wheel. When I eventually have to replace my Mini, will it be difficult to adjust to the Nano?

Rob Pegoraro: No.

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Scranton, PA: I use .Mac e-mail on a PowerBook at home. I can e-mail to everybody except my wife, 100 feet away, who is on a PC and has a .msn e-mail address. My inquiries to Apple go unanswered. What's the fix?

Rob Pegoraro: I think you need to ask MSN about this; why would they be filtering out mail sent from .Mac accounts? Does your wife have any special filtering set up on her account?

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Rob Pegoraro: That's gotta do it for today--the day job awaits. Thanks for keeping me busy... see you here again in a couple of weeks.

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