Plugging Away

Lots of appearances lined up for the end of the year, as usual.

• The segment I taped last week for Live with Regis and Kelly will finally air on Tuesday, December 9. It's on at 9a in most markets, usually on an ABC affiliate.
• I'm talking tech gadgets all week with Bill Handel, mornings on KFI 640 AM in Los Angeles.
• I'll be on with my buddy Steve Dahl on WCKG, Chicago, Tuesday at 5p Central.
• I'm back on Rock Talk with Allan Handelman for his annual Christmas Buying Spree, Sunday, 12/14 from 10-11p Eastern.
• And I do The Ronn Owens Show on KGO 810 AM in San Francisco, Wednesday 12/17 from 10-11a Pacific.

Phew! You can catch most of the radio appearances on the web, too. Check the various sites for details.

Live Again with Regis and Kelly

Two upcoming appearances I wanted to let you know about. I'm going to be on with Regis and Kelly again this morning. Check your local listings. I'm usually on in the last half of the show. And Cat will be on Howard Stern some time Wednesday morning. Tune in, it should be very interesting!

On The Road Again

I am going on a 10-day road trip starting tomorrow. I have no idea what kind of Internet access I'll have, so the news updates may be spotty for the next week and a half. First stop, Washington D.C, where Patrick, Kevin, Sarah, and I will tape segments for a special The Screen Savers in Washington week which will air May 24-28 with an hour long special on May 30. Watch your program listings for details. I'll be at the Air and Space Museum to interview John Glenn and the newest members of the astronaut corps, then it's across town to the FCC to take a look at their newest technology and interview FCC Chair Michael Powell. I'll do the radio show Saturday from DC. Then it's off to Montreal to moderate a panel at the SAS Users Group International's yearly meeting at Le Palais des Congrès. Finally, I'm heading south to Palm Beach, Florida, to speak at HBO's Sales & Marketing Summit. Jennifer and I will take a little R&R in Florida before heading back at the end of the week. Call for Help will be running "encore presentations" May 11-17, but we'll be back with all new shows, God and G4 willing, May 18.

Friday Follies

News time...

1. It's only a matter of time now. A security expert released example code Wednesday that showed how to use the GDI+ hole in the Windows OS and other Windows programs to plant a malicious program on a computer using a JPEG file. Most anti-virus companies have updated their definitions to detect infected JPEG files - make sure you update your AV.
2. Meanwhile Microsoft has announced it won't update Internet Explorer unless you're using Windows XP. The company said in a statement, "We do not have plans to deliver Windows XP SP2 enhancements for Windows 2000 or other older versions of Windows. The most secure version of Windows today is Windows XP with SP2. We recommend that customers upgrade to XP and SP2 as quickly as possible." I guess Redmond is feeling the pinch.
3. Sony has succumbed. In addition to supporting its proprietary ATRAC audio compression, new Sony music players will finally support MP3 files. I guess they realized you can't have an iPod killer without it.
4. Nokia has announced a new security camera that uses GSM, a cell phone technology, to phone home. When motion is detected the camera will send still images or video to any email address or cell phone.
5. A recent survey of web users says nearly half couldn't go two days without the net without suffering withdrawal symptoms. The "Internet Deprivation Study" from Yahoo and media group OMD said that respondents felt that they couldn't function without the net. Participants in the study "experienced withdrawal and feelings of loss, frustration and disconnectedness when cut off from the online world." They felt helpless, too, apparently having lost the ability to use the phonebook and newspapers to fetch information. They had to pay people $950 just to participate in the study.

Listen in Friday morning at 8:35a Pacific for my weekly news commentary on KFI 640 AM in Los Angeles. Tune in tomorrow at 7:40a Eastern for my weekly visit with John Donabie on 1010 CFRB Toronto. And, of course, listen to my show every Saturday and Sunday, noon to 3p Pacific on KFI, Los Angeles. I'll be making an appearance at Notebookshop.com in Cerritos Saturday after the show from 4-7p. Please stop by and say hello!

We Love LA!

Thanks to everyone who came out to Cerritos Saturday afternoon. I was really surprised and gratified by the turnout. Frankly I didn't know what to expect. But about 200 people showed up and I signed autographs and chatted with everyone for four hours (we closed the place up). As you can see, I wore one of my old TechTV shirts and I'm glad I did. So many of you shared your fond memories of TechTV. It made me sad for the good old days. It seemed odd making an appearance without Patrick, or Kate, or Sumi, or Leary, or somebody from TechTV with me! Those days are gone, though, and I'm thrilled to be finding a new audience at KFI. And such nice people, too. Like Cathy and Bruuuuuce, shown here. They spent all four hours hanging out and helping me to feel at home. Thanks to Jim Koo and his staff at Notebookshop.com for making a great event. Thanks, too, to the KFI promotion people, Andrea, Kyra, and Ran who kept everything hopping. I look forward to doing many more events like this in the Southland!