On today's show, see great tech you can buy on the cheap or get for free.


Top Features
Free legal online music
Free and Legal Music Downloads
Despite what the RIAA wants you to think, you can download music for free, and it's completely legal. We'll show you several resources where the RIAA can't touch you.		streaming radio copyright
Record Streaming Media
Learn how you can take those streaming talk shows, music, and other media that you enjoy online and record them for listening or viewing at a different time.



More From This Episode
Today's hosts
Your hosts for the show are Leo Laporte and Patrick Norton.

Leo on 'Charlie Chat'
Leo appears on the Charlie Chat show all this month. It's available only on the Dish Network. Find out when the show airs.

Today's headlines

Question of the Day: Do you want Wi-Fi with that?
Vote in our poll and join our Talkback discussion.

Nicole's Web tip: Print websites
Do you want a full-color printout of your favorite website? Here's how to make one in Internet Explorer.
  1. Click on the Tools menu.
  2. Select Internet Options.
  3. Select the Advanced tab.
  4. Scroll down to check "Print background colors and images."


On This Day
In 1890, Vannevar Bush was born. He developed the differential analyzer, the world's first analog computer.

Join our LAN party
Frag fellow fans (and staff members) in the only live, televised LAN party in the world. Our LAN party is held every Thursday, but you must register to participate.

Tonight on 'Tech Live'
What would you do if you paid $5,000 for a Segway you're not supposed to take on the sidewalk? That's what happened to a man who recently became one of the first owners of a Segway. On tonight's Tech Live, see how he's managing to get around town anyway.

"Tech Live's" Michaela Pereira will co-host "The Screen Savers" with Patrick on Friday while Leo is out of town.

Download of the Day: Winbar
Grab a free system monitor for Windows.

Bonded Sender
ListBot founder Scott Banister discusses Bonded Sender, which lets you receive the email you want and none of the email you don't want.

Nicole's Windows tip: Shared documents
To easily access shared files and folders with multiple users in Windows XP, put them in the Shared Documents folder. From My Computer, simply drag your desired documents into the Shared Documents folder.

Come see the show in person
If you're going to be in the San Francisco Bay area and you'd like to join "The Screen Savers" live on the set, here's how you can request tickets.

Tune in tomorrow
It's hump day, and here's what we have to get the end of the week started.
  • Build a gaming PC for less than $500.
  • Intel's new mobile technology for laptops.
  • NASCAR's new onboard technology.


Send us email
  • Got something for the show notes? Email us.
  • This page is updated throughout the live broadcast of the show at 7 p.m. Eastern.
  • Looking for a past article? Find it in our archive, which keeps a list of articles up to a year old.



Live Calls
USB extension limits
Tom in Arlington, Virginia, took time out from his duties as a TechTV Chat moderator to give us a call. All hell broke loose in the chat room, but Tom really wanted to ask about the cable limits of USB. He wants to put a netcam in his backyard, which means he needs a connection that's about 100 feet long. Can he do this?

USB has a specified cable length limitation of 5 meters (16.4 feet). This doesn't mean that USB won't work on longer cables. It just means that 5 meters is the "guaranteed" length that USB will work. Go longer than 5 meters and you might encounter problems.

Back in January, we did an experiment on the show to see how long we can go with our USB cables. We used all of our USB cable extenders and got to a length of over 17 meters, and our USB connection was still working.

Leo recommends using passive USB extension cables until you get to your desired length. It may still work. You can also try using optical USB extension cables, but they're pricey ($165 to $245). You can also try using a USB extender, but they cost $299 to $369.

Thanks for calling, Tom, and thanks for helping out in the chat room. Now get back in there before we lose complete control of chat!

PC radio station
Andrew in Oglesby, Illinois, wants to start a radio station that specializes in local music, and he wants to use his PC to broadcast. He found an internal PCI card that will broadcast his signal, but should he go with an external device?

If you use an internal PCI card like this one to broadcast, you may run into some interference with the card and your computer. You might be better off using an external kit like the ones found at Ramsey Electronics. You connect your computer to the kit. Since it's external, you don't have to worry about interference.

Before you broadcast, be sure you check with the FCC about rules and regulations. You don't want to end up an outlaw 'Pump Up the Volume' DJ.

End of show emails
  • A viewer in TechTV chat wants to know if Patrick is keeping the iBook that he used in his Switch experiment. The iBook is a loaner from Apple, so it will go away eventually. As for buying an iBook, Patrick wants to take a look at the new Intel Centrino-based notebooks first before making a decision.
  • A viewer wants to know how to make a bootable floppy if PCs stop using floppy disk drives. You'll have to use a bootable CD. Hopefully, manufacturers will start implementing USB support at the basic level, so we can use USB drives as boot disks.
  • A viewer wants to know if he can go to Kevin and Morgan's wedding. Kevin and Morgan both admit that they were forced to pose for that picture by our show producers. There's no wedding in the future.