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ComputerTalk with Dave Mason
The official archive of all available ComputerTalk with Dave Mason radio shows. Spend some time with Dave. Listen to a full show or explore clips by topic.
3,475 unique clips. Each clip appears in one section. Historical conversations, not current advice. Full episodes remain available separately by date.
1414 clips, strongest first.
A browser failure affects only a small share of websites, making it less disruptive but much harder to reproduce. Dr. Dave asks the caller to observe which sites fail and what they share, openly says he is grasping at straws, offers one cautious test and apologizes that he cannot give a more confident answer.
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Dr. Dave connects a Mac caller’s DVD-writing and printing failures through their shared dependence on the hard drive, then honestly says he needs time to think before offering a confident fix.
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Tom asks whether a highly rated online seller makes questionable software safe to buy. Dr. Dave says reputation reduces risk but never guarantees a transaction, explains his policy of buying only when a total loss would not matter and recognizes a nine dollar industrial laminator as a true Dr. Dave Mason deal.
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A caller from Ocean Springs says the technical discussion is over his head and asks how to preserve roughly ten thousand photographs, including images a friend took after Hurricane Katrina. Dr. Dave slows down, explains how to identify a CD writer in plain language and offers to continue helping by email when airtime runs short.
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A caller asks whether running old calibration software could possibly damage a Windows XP machine. Dr. Dave refuses to turn “possible” into a useful probability—aliens could theoretically have written it—but judges the actual likelihood extremely low and closes with the practical disclosure that he would run it on his own equipment.
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Asked whether a large power unit can stop lightning damage, Dr. Dave refuses a guarantee, describes unpredictable damage he has seen and gives his broader 80-20 rule: build a rational hierarchy of worries and use strong protection without pretending any measure is absolute.
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Dr. Dave acknowledges the caller’s frustration with outsourced support and advises asking respectfully for someone easier to understand. He distills his customer service approach into being respectful, firm and assertive without becoming aggressive, then brings the advice back to getting the machine repaired.
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Asked to compare professional scanners, Dr. Dave immediately says the caller knows the particular line better, asks how the equipment is actually used, identifies throughput as the real requirement and recommends against changing a combination already proven in that office.
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When Howard asks about an unfamiliar printer, Dr. Dave does not invent an opinion or turn a store demonstration into an endorsement. He says plainly that he has not heard of it, asks clarifying questions and promises only to research it before speaking intelligently.
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A caller wants to preserve 1930s and 1940s medium-format negatives and accepts that scanning them one by one will take time because it gives him direct control over each image. Dr. Dave then reveals his own experiment: scanning back X-rays with a transparency light so he can keep digital copies in his personal files, while joking about adding mysterious details for the doctor.
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Dr. Dave says online privacy depends as much on behavior as on technical protection, then continues after the break by pointing to sensitive data exposed because a person took a laptop home. Even sophisticated tools cannot compensate for poor decisions, unclear rules or ignored rules.
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Asked for a single best computer, Dr. Dave refuses to invent a standout in what he calls a “pit of mediocrity.” He tells the caller to define what he actually needs, be honest if the real budget is eight hundred dollars rather than six hundred and buy from a source whose integrity and support can be counted on.
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At the end of a heavily infected computer call, Dr. Dave says frustration tempts people to skip steps, rush and make the situation worse. He recommends staying calm and methodical, treating a problem with many layers one layer at a time and repeating each stage until it produces no further negative result.
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A caller wants an expensive solid-state drive because several laptop drives have rapidly corrupted data. Dr. Dave notices that the plural “drives” means replacement has already failed, explains that memory, a connector or the motherboard may be responsible and warns that a costly new drive could immediately reproduce the same failure.
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After caller John describes a confusing sequence of failed restores and a blank display, Dr. Dave explains the limit of remote certainty. He can offer broad possibilities, but the machine must be placed in front of someone who can troubleshoot it methodically, and he is candid that the radio cannot replace a hands on diagnosis.
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A caller reports an extraordinary buzzing computer. Dr. Dave acknowledges the strange possibilities but begins with the simplest electrical explanation, recommends testing in a neutral environment and stresses documenting the problem before the warranty expires.
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A dentist asks about office email, but the actual need is simply replacing paper notes passed among staff. Dr. Dave rejects starting with a costly server product and says to define the desired outcome first, then use technology creatively, which leads to a small network message tool that mirrors the existing workflow.
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After a difficult reinstall call, Dr. Dave reveals that his best results come from staying completely calm and methodical—something easier with a client's machine than his own. When a long process fills him with nerves, he walks away for a while; the caller agrees that household work between discs helps, and Dr. Dave says he trims hedges the same way.
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Gary cannot delete apparently empty folders and asks for a forceful workaround. Dr. Dave steps back from the visible symptom, checks when the filesystem was last examined and refuses to jump to deletion utilities until a more fundamental corruption problem has been tested.
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A caller confirms that Dr. Dave was right to suspect an overlooked browser plug-in. Dr. Dave uses the result to urge a second, third or even later look before making an off-the-cuff judgment and wiping a machine, because reinstalling is slower and more destructive than people expect.
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Dr. Dave praises client and caller Charles for freely admitting that he clicked a false Microsoft update. Telling the truth not only feels better, the brothers explain; it gives the person trying to help an accurate picture and a real chance to repair the problem instead of working through a diluted story.
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Caller Ken asks about a company that rebuilds laptop batteries. Dr. Dave says the underlying work can be legitimate but advises testing the company first by contacting technical support, checking its return policy and using a payment method that offers recourse.
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A caller wants to remap an awkward laptop keyboard, but Dr. Dave asks whether the effort is worth the return and recommends an external keyboard or time to retrain the brain. The brothers connect that 80-20 judgment to changing their own advertising process after sixteen years: improvement requires getting through the unfamiliar pain until the new method becomes easy.
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For a new college student choosing between Mac and Windows, Dr. Dave rejects brand zealotry, praises Apple candidly, acknowledges cost and failure risks, then bases the recommendation on budget, classes, friends and the environment in which the machine will be used.
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Browse by year, then month, to find the episodes from that month.
442 proposed broadcast dates, plus 2 undated entries. Dates are based on archive filenames and may be approximate. Some broadcasts survive as separate parts or incomplete recordings.
