Gec Living

New WLM not so chunky and bulky after all

2011-05-31T03:27:00.000-07:00

Hey

The new WLM sucks right? so big and bulky and hard to use, an eye sore! Unless you use the built-in Facebook and social network features.

But if you prefer the older compact view, you actually can change it.

A. Next to the Indox icon you should see a icon that looks like a window, or two frames, click that to toggle compact and full view.

B. Click on your name in WLM (The bit where you can change your online status to online, busy, offline etc.) and then click on the button that says "Switch to full view mode" or "Switch to compact view" to toggle settings.

Easier way to add captions in Pinnacle Studio

2011-05-26T08:19:00.000-07:00

Its not too hard to make captions that are short.

I got lazy and I just added a slab or maybe 20 seconds of captions on one caption, this made it really bulky, unprofessional and crowded the screen but it was convenient for me.

I then realised I can easily make then shorter without having to apply much effort.

1. Do what I have done above, add a decent slab of text into a caption and add it to scene.
2. Split the captions on the timeline along where you want the captions to change.
3. Now start deleting sentences so that you only have a short sentence on every split caption.
4. As the captions will include the original slab of text, all you have to do is delete more and more lines of text until you teach the last sentence in the slab.
2B. You may want to split the captions strategically to ensure you don't need to play around with timing realignment.

This has saved me so much effort in making shorter captions. Its easy , quick and looks so much more professional (which makes it more practical) as slabs of text are hard to follow.

Fix stuck deleting print job

2011-03-05T14:34:00.000-08:00

Have a job stuck in your print queue that says deleting?

Here is a fix:

"

1) Go to Control Panel

2) Select System and Maintenance

3) Select Administrative Tools

4) Double-click on Services

5) In the list of services, scroll down until you find one called "Print Spooler"

6) Right-click on "Print Spooler" and select "Restart"

7) The "deleted" jobs will disappear and any queued jobs in your print queue will print
"

Quoted from:

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/itprovistaprinting/thread/2d7f6282-3f20-43ff-a897-26db99585c1f/

pod51008.outlook.com

2011-02-23T02:06:00.000-08:00

Login or password error when setting it up in Thunderbird?

Try using the username as the whole address rather than the first bit. For example use gecblog@uowmail.edu.au as the username instead of just gecblog. The Outlook exchange server is used by many different e-mail groups not just for example uowmail.edu.au so, you need to input that as well.

Common error message you get when this setting is incorrectly set up:

"Login Failed"
"Login to server pod51008@outlook.com failed."
"Retry, Enter New Password, Cancel"

All my Excel cells are greyed out and I can't re-colour them

2011-02-18T04:14:00.000-08:00

If everything in Excel is all gray and you can not change any of the colours even after changing the formatting. Then most likely you are viewing the Excel workbook in "Page Break Preview", if all the cells are gray even if you have nothing in it and never used that cell, then my guess is "Page Break Preview!

GO to View > Normal View and well. that should be it.

View > Page Break Preview to make it all gray again.

Solution gathered from:

http://www.mrexcel.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33739

How to set up Internet on TPG mobile

2011-01-06T05:17:00.000-08:00

http://optusau.wdsglobal.com/index.html

Seeming as TPG runs on the Optus network, just follow the link above, it will allow you to be sent a sms that auto configures everything for you =) Hope that helps!

Quickly switch to the desktop

2010-10-24T04:51:00.000-07:00

I realised how much efficiency I have gained through Windows 7 using the Aero Peek or bottom right hand button that shows desktop as well as learning the Windows + D shortcut to switch to the desktop.

A recent modification I made was to go into the mouse settings and assign the middle click button to show desktop, now I can quickly switch applications, open apps or files and folders in 1 click and 1 click to bring back the last program I was using. Its pretty quick and easy, like in games to switch between modes or screens but it will disable the open in now window function which really only works in Internet browsers.

EDIT/Fix: You can add program specific settings and add Firefox to it and allow the middle click button to be Middle Click rather then Show/Hide desktop.

Efficiency in using mouse

2010-10-16T23:51:00.000-07:00

I want to reduce my mouse usage and I got inspired from using a tablet today and iPod, You can actually download freeware to change your laptop or pc to use a "drag and scroll" feature to simulate the touch-pads. This will save the time of having to move the mouse to the scroll bar and instead just click an empty area on the window and move the mouse up or downwards.

Google Drag and scroll freeware to find one that suits you.

External Monitor COnnected to Laptop flickers

2010-09-11T02:59:00.000-07:00

Here is a new one. I got a new BenQ monitor and connected it to my laptop, brilliant, best add-on to my laptop ever., except for one thing. flickering or refresh rate lines.

After days of search, I finally found on google that if i run the laptop on DC the flickering goes away, when I run it off AC the flickering is there, even more weird if i put the laptop into Max Performance mode the flickering is even worse, if I place it in Battery Saving mode the flickering is less.

I found this website that gave me the idea of testing for the AC and DC differences to flicker.

http://mrgnome.wordpress.com/2009/06/12/external-monitor-flicker-laptop-ground-loop-problem-solved/

To be honest I DON'T condone the use of this method as modifying any electrical parts are dangerous, I will re-post again if I find a fix that doesn't require such a big risk.

EDIT: Seems like it is the AC power pack from the laptop, putting noise onto the LCD cause they share the same power board, when using a different board, the problem does not exist.

Now my experiment ideas are using a DVI to HDMI converter adaptor, My laptop only has VGA and HDMI but my screen has VGA and DVI so if I use the DVI cable and monitor and change one side of DVI cable back to HDMI I can use HDMI port for digital signal, hopefully this will reduce the noise impact as it;'s digital signals not analogue. WINNER (brought a $18 adaptor from DickSmithElectronics, DVI-I Female to HDMI Male)

Other idea is looking into getting special surge boards that split this noise and interference, don't know what they are called or if they even exist.

Lastly use an adaptor to remove the grounder plug, not physically but if you plug the 3 pins into an adaptor with 2 pins it removes the ground pin from working back into the surge board.

EDIT: My power pack died anyway so I went and got a new one, which had 2 pins, so no grounding pin. Fixed the problem with DVI anyway but hey if you have VGA as only option then you can try getting a global power pack to have 2 pins rather then buying a plug to change 3 to 2 pins. =) cheers hope this helps.

JDdownloader

2010-07-20T19:45:00.001-07:00

Need to schedule up or simplify downloads from Meagupload, Rapidshare etc.?
Well there is a way! Use JDdownloader!

This free software allows you to:

* Schedule many downloads from Rapidshare, Megaupload etc. automatically, it is hard to do without this software because you need to enter CAPTCHAS. This software can automate that for you.

* Simplify your downloads, as you know when downloading huge files say for example a Linux ISO you will have something like 30 off links from Megaupload as the ISO is split into different parts. Using this software you can have it automatically downlaod all the aprts and even extract all the parts into a single folder with the ISO in it.

* You can easily get the links into JDDownloader by:

Copying a website or blog URL into the clipboard (Windows Clipboard so basically just copy the web URL) whilst JD is running, it will then show up a lsit of all links and you choose what you wanted to dwonlaod from that website.
Copy each individual link whilst JD is open
Copy a big slab of text which contains links, the software is so amazing in filtering out text and keeping links only.

* Many other features and add-ons such as auto shut down, scheduler, unzipper etc. etc. so amazing for a Freeware. So useful in countries where downloads are split into On and Off peaks periods OR shaped traffic plans.

http://jdownloader.org/

MSN/WLM Batch import Gifs as emoticons / Back up all emoticons

2010-07-10T21:08:00.000-07:00

Ever wanted to important many GIFs as emotions but hate the long and annoying process? You can do a batch import and after you do that you can backup all your emotions, so if you need to re-install, you don't even need to batch import, just do a recovery/import of the backup file and tada.

Hopefully MSN/WLM will have a save emotions to server one day, so annoying if you can't use the same emotion when on a different computer, using web messenger or need to re-install MSN?WLM.

http://www.emoticonmadeeasy.com/

MSN/WLM Message window pops up

2010-06-17T01:42:00.000-07:00

MSN/WLM Message window pops up
MSN/WLM Conversation window pops up

Isn't it annoying when you joke to a friend about soemthing, another friend sends you a message and then that window pops up and you type into the wrong window, hit Enter by impulse and then have a very awkward situation where the friend 2 is reading a very out of context and maybe even disturbing message that is only disturbing due to being out of context?

Yeah, it's a pain in the butt to explain that every time it happens. It seems to happen more frequently when offline contacts send you a message, whoever sends a message last is at the very top all the time.

To my experience the solution is:

Disable the alert/notification pop up you get above the clock, this seems to also disable the actual Message/Conversation windows from popping up to be the active window.

Open messenger
Tools > Options > Alerts
Uncheck "Display an alert when a message is received"

I thought this would turn off everything but you still get the sound and also flashing icon in the task bar, so it only disables the little pop up above the clock and also the actual Message window from opening up in front of you. This applies to Windows 7 anyway.

GOOD LUCK! Hope this helps

Edit: I think this varies depending on how you set up MSN, for example if you're using Windows XP mode where the MSN icons is in task bar or in system bar etc. also combine icons or don't combine etc.

I have tested it and it still seems to happen if a contact is offline and sends you a message, it pops up affecting where ever you are typing to be typed into their window. I have noticed that if the contact has sent you a message and you minimise it then the next messages from them doesn't pop up but again online contacts seem to be less annoying LOL.

Better Internet reliability, less drop outs on Wi-Fi: Solved

2010-06-14T18:08:00.001-07:00

WLM/ MSN Missing Messages: Solved

2010-06-14T18:03:00.000-07:00

This is a place holder for a solution I am still evaluating.
The Solution, if it be one will be posted in around few months time after evaluation of it's effectiveness or relation to solving the problem.

I had a Modem that was connected to a Wi-Fi router (Router with wireless) and both were in routing modes. I suspect this could have caused issues with speed, drop outs, accuracy and loss of data (especially MSN/WLM lost messages)

Solution (Hopefully):

Set the Wi-Fi rouyter into "Access Point (AP) Mode so it simply just relays everything from the modem into Wi-Fi or Ethernet ports.

Other way is to set up the modem as a modem ONLY (most modems for ADSL have routers inside) and then set up the Wi-Fi router to do all the login and Internet authoisation processes. This process in my opinion is much harder and if the first soltuion above works then why make more work for yourself?

In my case anyway, it was easier to put the Wi-Fi wouter into AP mode, I have a Belkin by the way. Apparently it is harder to undo! so keep that in mind, if you set the Wi-Fi router into AP mode you need to use the Reset button at the back of the routewr to reset it (which emans you've got to set it up as if it just came out of the box which is a pain if you have all the computers set up to access a particular SSID and password.

Just quickly:

Go to an Internet browser
Smack in http://192.168.2.1/
Enter
Go down to "Set Up as Access Point" or soemthing similar
Follow the prompts
Check to see if all the computers can still connect and see the Modem, the router should now be an invisible device with the exception of the Searching for Wi-Fi connections.

EDIT: I've noticed that when messages aren't delivered it now tells me, usually when I send too many messages at the same time, like I type 1 word per message but I guess it is not a 100% fix but at least it's as simple as copy paste and then re-send rather than you or recipient swear at each other for being rude and not replying =]

Can't Install ATI Catalyst on Laptop (Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic)

2010-04-29T00:35:00.000-07:00

Toshiba, Sony and Panasonic laptops have drivers that prevent you from installing any other drivers from the graphics card manufacturer unless it is the version by the laptop manufacturer (obviously a modified version)

Now there is little problems with that, if you don't play games or chase after the latest mm of performance gain. BUT it could be a problem if you install Windows 7 on your laptop because Windows Vista that came with your laptop had Catalyst installed already right? but with Windows 7, you should be running a more generic driver or a Toshiba/Sony/Panasonic driver (which would be likely downloaded from Windows Update)

Anyway, now for my story, I realised without ATI Catalyst that my LCD screen can not be calibrated and made brighter (too dark). External LCD monitors can be calibrated through the buttons but laptops don't have buttons for the laptop.

SOLUTION: (Skip to this section if you don't want story or background info)

Go to: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/modtool.php

That's it really haha, all the info is there! Basically a program that modified the drivers so your laptop won't refuse them and if they not refused then ATI Catalyst will recognise the drivers installed as being the compatible ones and tada!

Remember, follow instructions on the site, I won't make a "in a nut shell" guide this time but basically need the latest ATI Catalyst install file and the Mobility Modder program.

Installing D-Link DWA-110 USB Wireless adaptor in Windows XP

2010-04-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

You may get a problem with installing this device, after you install the D-Link software, it may say that it can not detect the device.
Windows device installer may also say there is an error installing it with errors such as "Can not find the specific file".
Chances are that D-Link says it's compatible with Windows XP, which it is but didn't say what service pack. You will need to install SP3 in order to use and install some drivers for newer devices such as thumb drives, Ext. HDDs and in this case USB wireless adaptor.

Good luck!

Faster Moving and expanding partition

2010-04-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

If you are going to make a partition larger by adding HDD space after that partition into it, you will find it only takes a few minutes to do. If however say you have an OS partition and you want to shrink that and use the extra space into a data partition then you will need to move everything in your data partition over to begin where the new space is formed, meaning that every data has to be moved over.

To speed it up you can do a bit of house cleaning and delete some data you don't need off the data disk so there is less things to move over, for example deleting some movie and large sized files.

Is it ok to buy the display model?

2010-04-01T07:14:00.000-07:00

Here is my list of yay and nay for buying display models of technology:

At Full price:

Nothing

At Discounted price:

Printers
Scanners
Mobile phones
Speakers and hi-fi units
Desktop

Should avoid:

Monitors and TVs
Laptops (they suck up dust and get smashed a bit by unkind customers)

Fell free to add your own here by commenting!

Windows XP Mode in Windows 7

2010-03-15T16:43:00.001-07:00

The Windows XP Mode for Windows 7 is out now.

It is basically a virtual machine or a virtual pc running inside Windows 7, just like how you can run Linux or whatnot inside Windows.

It is available for anyone who owns Windows 7 Professional and above.

Runs pretty smoothly, but accessing things off the Windows 7 HDD can be a bit slow and lagging, for example running a song off Windows 7 in Windows XP mode feels like running a song on a weak wireless network, very choppy and lagging.

Yet to install any software on it to run or use a printer etc. with Windows XP. Maybe more RAM can solve the lagging problem, but Windows Xp Mode is much better than most Virtual machines OS you can install because it maps all your Windows 7 HDDs as network drives (BY DEFAULT, not set up required) so you are not stuck with running the local Windows XP virtual HDD only.

The download link is:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx

"Windows cannot delete the active system partition"

2010-03-04T20:29:00.000-08:00

Windows cannot delete the active system partition

Sounds like you are trying to delete or edit a partition that had/has a Windows installation on it, Trying to install a new window in that partition? (you can just install over it during the install process) Trying to use that partition for something else like as data storage? Well then you will need remove the system before you can re-format the partition for use.

Try this:

Make sure the account you are logged into Windows with is an Admin one
Windows + R
msconfig
Enter
Boot > Delete the OS or windows you do not want any more
Apply > Restart

Now go right-click My computer > Manage > disk Management > Try to re-format the partition, shrink it, delete it etc.

OK, so that doesn't work. This website : http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/itprovistasetup/thread/af3a1e24-214f-4e0e-b917-9530a27534de

Deactivate / Inactive an active partition:

Suggests doing things in command prompt to deactivate the partition you want to reformat. After doing a Google search I found out that only 1 partition can be active, so instead of doing the command prompt stuff, I tried this emthod and it worked:

Right-click My computer > Manage > Disk Management
Select the partition you are now wanting to use > Right-Click > Mark partition as Active
The other partition should now be inactive and ready for you to reformat, etc.

Hope this works for you! =]

Recovering / Migrating Mozilla Firefox / Thunderbird Profiles!

2010-03-04T04:58:00.000-08:00

OK, I did a hard drive partition whilst running on battery and I left it running and forgot all about it, so.. logical tells us the battery didn't last as long as the process, hence my whole partition was partially stuffed up, big time!

Meaning windows would not boot. I ran the recovery options from the W7 disc and ta-da, Windows now boots.

OK now my desktop won't load at all, so my Windows install is pretty much stuffed up, ad not even the Admin or Safe-mode accounts can load anything up. I'll try a system restore point, opss I disabled that before for some unexplained reason :\

So now I am evaluating what I will lose if I do a fresh install over it, well Firefox Bookmarks NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO and also Thunderbird E-mails and address book, Ahh NOOOOOOOOOO this can't be happening, I don't make a regualr habbit of back up, only like once every 3 months. =.="

So I decided to do a fresh install but on a different partion and keep the sutffed up W7 partition so I can attempt to recover the programs etc. (not really recover but like I can acces the Program files oflder of the stuffed up W7 and at least have a remidner of what programs I had installed etc.

I separate my data and OS for this purpose, so that only Firefox and Thunderbird data is lost (hopefully, I haven't yet thought of anything else I might lose except for windows shortcuts and layouts which some can be copied and pasted and maybe saved games, which can also be pasted, see why I said install in a new partition?? you can continue to recover some stuff)

IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN MY EVENT STORY AND JUST WANT TO KNOW HOW TO RECOVER THE PROFILES OF MOZILLA SOFTWARE DO THIS: (Windows 7)
Read Red Tips below first before beginning to save time =)

Go to: C:\Users\Gec\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox
Where C = Drive letter of stuffed up W7
Where Gec = name of your Windows profile (e.g. Gec's Pictures, i.e. the name you see at the log in screen)
Go to "Profiles" > fn489th3.default
Where fn489th3 = random, your one will not be called this
Copy the whole fn489th3.default folder into:
D:\Users\Gec\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles
Where D = new drive letter of working W7
Where Gec = new windows account name
Now in: D:\Users\Gec\AppData\Roaming\Firefox\profiles.ini
Change "Path=Profiles/zvdf31jz.default" to "Path=Profiles/fn489th3.default"
Where zvdf31jz.default = random name made by the new Firefox install
Save the changes and now open up Firefox, most bookmarks etc. should be there with the exception of Themes.
!!! The same works for Thunderbird, with the exception that the location is
C:\Users\Gec\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird
!!! To avoid this situation again, try using a Mozilla Backup tool called "MozBackup" (recommendation only, i am no way associated with the promotion of the product, BTW it's free anyway ;P)

TROUBLE SHOOTING / TIPS:

You need Firefox and or Thunderbird installed in the new W7 install first.
You also need to run the application once first and when asked, select "do not import
anything" as this will set up the profile folders.
You need to go to Tools > Folder Options > View > Show hidden files, folders and drives
before you can see the "AppData folder in D:\Users\Gec\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird
You may only see profile instead of profile.ini unless you un-check "Hide file extensions of known file types" (Tools > Folder Options > View > Hide file extensions of known file types"

Word table going onto next page with big gaps

2010-02-05T05:00:00.000-08:00

The symptom is the table has 1 or 2 rows and then there is a big gap in the page and the table continues on the next page. So in other words the table breaks automatically over pages with gaps in between. Broken up tables across pages? Don't know how to explain it but hopefully I would have typed enough keywords for you to find this blog on Google

CLICK THUMBNAILS FOR LARGE VIEW

Like this I guess:

SOLUTION:

Go to the next page where the table continues, then go to the row where you think the rows before it will fit in the gap and inset a page break at the beginning of that row. This should fit some rows into the gap and then continue the table on the next page to give a constant flow table.

Bit hard to explain in text, maybe I shall make a tutorial?

Measure approximately how many rows can fit in the gap in Page1. Less is better than more else it won't work.

Now place the cursor at the beginning of the first word in the row you want to be the first row on Page 2.

Now, Insert a page break there

You should now have more of the table on Page 1 and less on Page 2 so it has a continuous flow without any gaps.

Hope this helped!! Sure took me forever to figure it out and also the help on forums and Google weren't that helpful, so I hope I have used some keywords for the useless sites I have found, so you can find this blog within 5 clicks on Google and
rest easy and earlier tonight!

DreamScene error: desktop icon text

2010-01-31T23:24:00.001-08:00

When you enable a video as the wallpaper with DreamScene you may get black or invisible text for the desktop icons, which renders the text pretty unreadable.

To fix that try this:

Right-click the desktop > Personalize
Desktop Background
Change "Picture position" to "Fill"
check your desktop, hopefully the text has become white and readable.

Upgrading/install new HDD in laptop, not showing up in My Computer

2010-01-26T05:10:00.000-08:00

Simple, Your new HDD (upgrade) is a new HDD and so your laptop has no idea who it is. Assign it a drive letter and your computer will acknowledge who it is.

Right-click My computer > Manage > disk Management

Should have a pop up window, follow the prompts and assign partition method (MBR I would recommend after reading the warning inside the pop up window)
Right-click the new HDD in the main window (should be a HDD that is black coloured and says Unallocated)
New simple volume > assign space and drive letters as required. Set space to max if you want 1 partition but if want more than 1 then you much around with it, if you know what you are doing.

A really simple solution to a simple problem really but hahah well I kinda forgot and I thought I had a dud HDD but it was hot so it was on and connected, so yeah here you have it~

How to expand a HDD with a different physical HDD

2010-01-07T16:34:00.000-08:00

How to combine two paritions on two different physical HDDs
How to make two partitions as one when partitions are on separate HDDs
How to make one big HDD with two physical HDDs

Remember to back up data before attempting this tutorial!

Have a partition you want to be the main one (Partition # 1) - can have data on it
Mount the other partition in a folder inside the partition above (Partition # 2) - should have no data on it

Right-click My Computer > Manage
Storage / Disk Management
Right-click Partition #2 and Create New volume (If you have already formatted this partition, delete it and then do step 3, REMEMBER deleting a partition removes data, you should move the data off this partition before formatting)
Follow the prompts and select the option to mount to a NFTS folder
Select an empty folder in Partition #1
Continue with the prompts
Open up the Partition #1 folder where you mounted the drive, you should now have a folder in Partition #1 that you can store data in, the data will store in the folder as if normal but the data will be stored on a different physical HDD but with minimal user interface differences.

Good Luck! Remember to back up data before attempting this tutorial! I can make screen shots if anyone is struggling and requests more detailed steps but if you can't follow the steps above then you really shouldn't muck around in the Manage tools of My computer. =) all the best!

Fixing Stuck/Persistant Pixels (White pixel not chaning)

2010-01-05T18:29:00.000-08:00

http://www.jscreenfix.com/basic.php

To fix a stuck LCD pixel, go to that ^ website and run the Java application. follow the prompts on the website! =)

Tips:

* Use Internet Explorer instead of Firefox if you are trying to fix a pixel located in the top or bottom of the screen as Firefox has a slight slide-in menu sticking out (border) - You'll understand when you see the app running in the browser.

* Click the URL bar and then press F11 to make the browser full-screen, pressing F11 without selecting the URL bar will send a F11 command to the Java app, which does nothing.

Good Luck!

http://gateway.2wire.net/xslt?PAGE=HURL07 ERROR wehn trying to load a website

2009-12-16T05:03:00.000-08:00

If your getting this error: http://gateway.2wire.net/xslt?PAGE=HURL07 or more precisely, Server not found, can not contact gatway or soemthing along that line, You have a 2Wire modem. The chances are You have set the firewall on it to Maximum Protection and the other chance is You have a router which also runs a Firewall, and that is why you need to put the modem into DMZplus mode and let the router's firewall do the protecting. Apparently, if you don't, running two firewalls is inefficient as it double NATs or Network Address Translation which has something to do with local IPs and global IPs and translation between them.

So I think if you go into 2Wire control panel page (http://10.0.0.XXX) and Edit the firewall settings to be DMZPlus Mode you should be safe and also get the websites up and running again.
Weird thing was, for me, My SMTP, POP and MSN (WLM) worked fine, only HTTP has issues)

Here was where my research ended and helped make my final decision of turn down the firewall on the modem. I figured that turning it off was a solution but wasn't sure if it was safe, I think the website says it is (according to a forum poster, lol)

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r20462923-Computer-in-DMZplus-mode

Churing / Changing / ADSL ISP Service providers

2009-12-14T04:02:00.000-08:00

One thing to check before telling your new ISP when to change over your Internet is the date that your current ISP refreshes it's download quota. Make sure you have enough time for the new ISP to activate your account and cancel your current ISP account before the refresh date otherwise you can be billed for another month of Internet from your current ISP.

Windows Vista skips Windows XP

2009-12-13T04:36:00.000-08:00

Windows XP is no longer showing up as an option in the boot menu after you installed Vista?
Vista boots right up without asking to boot into Windows XP?
Vista looks like it has replaced Windows XP?
Can't select to boot into windows XP after installing windows Vista?

Well then, you'll need to install this software in Vista. EDIT: NO LONGER FREE :(

http://www.vistabootpro.org/

What you have to do is:

Install the software
Make a backup of your boot manager (using the software)
Now create a new entry for a OS, give it a name and most importantly select the drive letter that you have install Windows XP on (open up My computer in Vista to see the drive letter)
Save or apply the entry and re-boot and try

Should be pretty simple, if not post a comment and I guess I'll make a proper tutorial lol.

Pretty much what has happened is Windows Vista runs a newer boot manager than Windows XP and if the drive letters are screwed up, you might not have windows XP in the boot menu and hence vista will boot by default.

So by making a new entry you are creating a option in the boot manager to check the drive letter X for example, and then boot from there when selected.

Automated resize of pics to upload

2009-12-07T04:17:00.000-08:00

We all now have better quality cameras, camera phones etc. which is all good until you need to upload over 30 pictures to the Internet at >500KB an image.

Using Photoshop to re-size them is a good way to really compress the size but keep the quality but how long will it take YOU to re-size it in Photoshop? (without learning how to make an automated batch script thingy)

Here is a quick and very small solution! :

RESIZE - http://www.snapfiles.com/publishers/peter-bone/index.html

Also check out the stick figure animation whilst your there, I have also used this before and it was great!

Sending messages to people I didn't add to the To list in Facebook

2009-11-27T19:45:00.000-08:00

I've done that twice already -.-"

Sending messages to a few people so I though, but ended up being many more people.

The reason as i found afterward was that I've been sending to friends lists because I was giving them names that are mistakable as a person's name.

I fixed this problem by renaming all my friends lists to have "***# (name of list)" that way I can't accidentally send something to a list of friends when I only wanted a send to a specific person who happened to have the same starting letter as the list name.

e.g. sending a message to Friends instead of Francine.

the other advantage of renaming lists to have ***# is that if you ever want to find a list but can't remember what names you gave them just press * and it will show up all the people starting with * which should only be lists unless you have befriended people who names who start with * (rare cases)

GetCurrentImage failed, hr = 8000ffff

2009-11-16T02:34:00.000-08:00

GetCurrentImage failed, hr = 8000ffff

Your getting this error because you are trying to save a image or a snapshot of a video in Media Player Classic (MPC), or at least I would presume, if not your reading the wrong post, lol.

You just need to tweak some settings to make it work:

Open up MPC
View > Options > Output (under Playback heading)
Change all the settings so the Radio button selected does not have a * next to it. * means that save as image will not work if you use that setting.
If you are viewing a RMVB file then you can get away with just adjusting the settings under RealMedia Video.
Close MPC and then open video and try saving (Important to close MPC before saving, if you're on the scene you want to save as image, it won't work as it's already rendered in the previous settings.

Hope this helps!

How to find out what mobile network your friend is on

2009-11-13T19:07:00.000-08:00

1. Ask them duh!

3. EDIT - Refer to Edit below

2. This question has surfaced the Internet before due to mobile carriers providing free sms or calls to numbers on the same carrier, sometimes you want to know for things like Plumbers, contractors, sellers (from poster ads and notice boards etc.) for whom you don't want to ask because it makes you look stingy and cheap, LOL

The Internet reads that with new mobile numbers it is impossible to tell which provider because numbers are no longer allocated to providers specifically. I am sure there are other methods to find out the provider of a mobile phone but I thought of a method to do it by using another service (not designed to tell you what provider the mobile number belongs to but works to do just that if you know how to)

SOLUTION:

Go to http://www.web2msg.com/
Make sure you go to the web page when all the allocated SMS to all the providers are "currently unavailable", to check this look under the "Current Status" box in the top right side of the web page. You should see all yellow crossed boxes
Now fill in the form on the website and send an SMS to number you want to send to
All providers are unavailable and you will get a message saying that the message was not sent because all the allocated SMS quota to provider XYZABCDEFG Pty. Ltd. are exhausted.
That's how you determine the provider, or one of the ways, or the only way I've come up with so far without asking the person (which is sometimes not possible without calling them first).

EXCEPTION:

If the providers are not all unavailable your message will actually be sent, so try avoid doing this, the SMS sent will be from Web2msg's number and will be considered as spam if you send it. The quota is reset every 12 hours so if you try at the right time, or analyse the website you'll know what time the quota is always exhausted, I will post some AEST times that I have found them to be most dead.

EDIT: (More reliable as method 2. has issues with carriers using other carrier networks and numbers being transferred to new carrier?)

Just found a better, simpler way to do it, good ol Google work.

http://www.smsfun.com.au/mobile_lookup.php

Shows the previous and current provider/carrier, which can be a bit confusing but;

Current provider: provider currently with (free txt or calls goes with them)

Previous provider: the previous carrier of that number (number change over?)

* A limitation of this 3rd method is that you can check up to ~3 numebrs a day without needing to make an account with the website (who has more than 3 numebrs to check anyway?)

MSN/WLM: Flash Player Required error on start up

2009-11-13T16:02:00.000-08:00

"To send or receive Windows Live Messenger content, you need a newer version of Adobe Flash Player. Once adobe Flash Player has been installed, you may need to exit and restart Windows Live Messenger.

To download and install the most recent version of Adobe Flash Player, click install"

SOLUTION: Feel free to post your solutions, mine is still not fixed.

SOLVED: (Special thanks to ParadoX)

ParadoX said...: Hi,

Had the same problem. Go to C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash and launch NPSWF32_FlashUtil.exe. That's it, restart MSN, the problem is gone :)

Cheers,
ParadoX

GEC LIVING now with SCREENSHOTS

2009-11-13T15:57:00.000-08:00

Hi all!

I don't know why I am an IT student and never thought of this before but I realised I have no screenshots of the errors. I shall add them in up coming future posts as most errors described here are "local" errors or errors I am dealing with personally. I don't think I will add step-by-step pictures for the solution part though because I think my steps are easier and faster to read and follow than to click multiple pictures and guess what's happening.

Best of luck,
Patrick G Leong (Blog admin)

Mass Storage Controller Driver missing (Windows 7)

2009-11-13T03:13:00.000-08:00

(Toshiba laptop) device manager: no drivers found for "Mass storage controller"

What it most likely is, is the SD or all-in-one card reader on your laptop. For my model, I installed the Texas-Instrument drivers. Your laptop may be different, search the laptop CD for the drivers or laptop manufacturer's website.

SOLVED

Performance Information and Tools

2009-11-13T03:10:00.000-08:00

The Windows Experience Index for your system could not be computed.

Could not measure storage performance.
the temporary file needed to perform work could not be placed on the disk. Could not find a suitable drive for the file.

SOLUTION: tb found

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/w7itproperf/thread/466f9a99-d148-492a-8903-32c010726fa2

^ suggests that the drive letter could be the problem, chances are likely because I also have windows 7 installed on a drive with the letter B: as par the website the link leads to.

I will try to change the letter of the drive to avoid re-installing Windows 7. Will post back if it is not as risky as I am thinking right now. WEI isn't that important anyways.

Unlimited MSN/WLM nudges (Without MSN Plus)

2009-11-12T18:58:00.000-08:00

You can use MSN plus but if you only wanted unlimited nudges every now and then, MSN Plus might be an eyesore and extra resource usage on your computer as your not using its other capabilities.

You can use a WLM alternative like emesene that has nudge plugins that do not follow the nudge limit design. They can sometimes not work though.

My discovery is if you open up your WLM window and then open the contact's window, nudge contact hit ESC click the contact again you can nudge again. It seems nudge limits are reset upon closing the chat window.

Lightweight PDF Viewer (SumatraPDF)

2009-11-12T01:27:00.000-08:00

I got copped with a 33MB update file from Adobe Reader and that's what tipped me off to get a better PDF viewer.

SumatraPDF is my new replacement:

At first the lacking of interface buttons compared to Adobe does put you off but then when you use it for a while you realise that you never used those buttons on Adobe anyways.

Goods:

Small download file
Opens very quickly
Does the job
Has the option (on by default) to remember where you last read the PDF up to, very good idea and tool if your reading Uni lecture notes or a big e-book, you'll want to not have to use bookmarks or remember page numbers. This alone is a great competitive advantage. Adobe may have had this feature, I am not sure but my Adobe certainly didn't remember pages upon closing.

DOWNLOAD: http://blog.kowalczyk.info/software/sumatrapdf/index.html

Windows 7 "no connection error" - ALT + TAB not work

2009-11-06T04:14:00.000-08:00

I am calling it the No connection error because I figured the error was caused by Windows Explorer having a box pop up above the system clock that says No Connection.

This box, being not very visible will cause your ALT-TAB to not work at all, Minimise and Maximise not work well and windows being inactive when they pop up (e.g. MSN) and cause you to type not into the chat window.

To fix it just click on the power icon, Wi-Fi icon and try to close that box that shows No connection.

Here are things that won't fix it that I have tried:

-locking computer, unlocking
-restarting explorer and then launching it again from task manager
-logging off and back on

Very strange and ANNOYING error/problem with windows 7 >=( especially as it's run pretty nicely over the weeks.

Cool and FREE WMP Visualisations From Microsoft

2009-11-05T01:00:00.000-08:00

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/visualizations.aspx#Top

A page of pretty cool visualisations, My Favorite is: Energy Bliss

avast causes windows 7 to have a black screen upon login

2009-10-23T16:15:00.000-07:00

After installing an old version of Avast (weird weird) and then updating it to the newer version, my Windows 7 would show a black screen and my cursor and be locked at the screen forever after the welcome screen (after login).

Restart, and same thing, after the welcome screen it goes into the black screen. So it isn't a boot problem, my guess is some driver or software that is hugely not compatible with Windows 7.

The way I fixed it was:

(p.s. write down these instructions if you need them because you can't run the Internet when booting off the DVD, for that matter you shouldn't be able to read this blog on the broken computer :\ ............ good point)

Put in the Windows 7 DVD
Hold down the power button (only way to restart the computer in my situation)
Boot off the DVD
Go through the prompts until you see the screen where you can click "Repair my computer" (bottom right of the screen)
Now select the option to recover from a system restore point.
Follow those prompts and then it will ask you to restart

My current theory is Avast Anti-Virus, maybe I need to download an installer for a W7 compatible version instead of updating a really outdated version.

The other things on the snapshot were Windows Updates, could be possible I guess, I am re-downloading the updates now so will update on that soon.

Delete / Move / Unlock locked files by windows or other applications

2009-10-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

I can't remember why I never posted about "Unlocker" the application, that is really good for unlocking files and folders being used by applications or Windows itself.

http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/

I had a folder that was created by windows during an update I'd presume or an install of something but the computer crashed and so the temp folder was never unlocked or deleted. Ran Unlocker for 5 seconds, couldn't find any application locking it but gave me the option to delete it, so i did. done!

firefox is already running, but is not responding. To open a new window, you must first close the existing Firefox process, or restart your system

2009-10-15T15:49:00.000-07:00

"Firefox is already running, but is not responding. To open a new window, you must first close the existing Firefox process, or restart your system"

WARNING My fix on this post is a quick fix to get you back up and running. It does NOT fix Firefox and save all data (bookmarks, histroy etc.) it only gets Firefox back into a running state.

Right-click on the Firefox icon
Properties
In the "Target:" field , scroll all the way to the right after the address
Add -profilemanager after the "
e.g. you should have something like this now "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -profilemanager
OK out of everything
Run Firefox
Make a new profile or delete the old one and make a new one
Remove the -profilemanager
Run Firefox as normal

Can't get rid of windows.old folder

2009-10-14T03:33:00.000-07:00

If you installed a new windows on an existing partition without re-formatting it you may now be stuck with a windows.old folder, which is good for recovering things from the previous Windows install, well it is until you get everything off and your wasting GBs of hard drive space and having an eye sore fodler.

You can't usually delete it in safe mode, using special software or just by pressing delete, well nto all of the fodler anyways.

Solution:

Right-Click the HDD
Properties
Disk Clean Up
Check the previous windows installs
OK to begin disk clean up

Done! hope this helps (:

Hide Libraries fodler from navigation window

2009-10-08T02:54:00.000-07:00

I never use it with my current folder design and it's a waste of space, and an eye sore. LOL

So here is a good link that explains:

http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/01/05/how-to-hide-or-show-libraries-in-the-navigation-pane-of-windows-7-explorer/

It doesn't remove the folder as such but it just removes the links inside the folder so it sort of removes the clutter as the libraries fodler won't expand automatically.

In a nutshell:

Right-click on fodler under Libraries in the navigation window
Select Remove

Install Windows Live Messenger (WLM) Without re-downloading

2009-10-08T02:39:00.000-07:00

I run a dual boot OS laptop and also maintain many computers at home and what bugs me about the new system of WLV compared to the old Windows Messenger is that you have to download a small installer file which will then download a huge file to install WML and when you are doing this for lots of computers or the same one but running a different OS then that is just plain annoying. You'll think so too when your living in Australia and have download limits.

This is a really good link that shows you how to do it:

Retrieve Windows Live Messenger 2009 standalone individual setup installer msi.
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2008/10/21/retrieve-windows-live-messenger-2009-standalone-individual-setup-installer-msi-from-web-download/

AND again for my lazy viewers :P :

Go to OS drive, C:\Program Files\common Files\Windows Live\
Type in the address bar after C:\Program Files\common Files\Windows Live\
.cache to give C:\Program Files\common Files\Windows Live\.cache
Press enter
Go to search bar up the top and type in "Messenger"
You should see in the results field, Messenger.msi
Copy and paste that file into a folder for keeps and then run it to install WLM.

Hope this helps! :P I seriously do cause it's annoying, that and I sort of wrote this post before I checked if it worked. LOL

EDIT:

Also Search for "wllogin.msi" whilst your there and also install that. That is the Login-Assistant and without it you might not be able to sign in to WLM even though you have it installed.

A second note is the MDi is ment for the small installer program you used before to install WLM and hence no uder interface is visible, it simply installs and closes itself when done. So if you clicked it once see a installing window and it disappears, check the Start > All Programs. It has been installed.

Windows XP Mode for Windows 7

2009-10-02T08:28:00.000-07:00

Windows XP Mode for Windows 7?

Yes! you might ask why don't i save money and just use windows XP? I have no answer, sorry, but maybe this release of XP will make Windows 7 more compatible. It seems to me its less compatible with "stuff" than Vista but then again my machine is designed for Vista.

Indenting Paragraph In A Table

2009-09-30T02:40:00.000-07:00

If you press TAB in a table it skips to the next cell or column/row. To create an indent in a table press CTRL + TAB

^MS Office Word.

Auto Login Safe?

2009-09-29T16:40:00.000-07:00

You don't need to login to Windows to have access to your files stored on your HDD, so a Windows password doesn't protect thieves from opening your files by attaching the hard drive to another computer.

If you have BIOS or fingerprint access restriction upon boot up then your protected from unauthorised use of your computer anyways.

Auto login does not remove the password for when you lock the computer (Windows + L) or when the screen saver is closed and so it still does prevent people from using your computer.

Editing Vista and Windows 7 Boot Menu (no longer boot.ini)

2009-09-29T16:31:00.001-07:00

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2676-bcdedit-how-use.html

No liabilities of what you do with that link. :)

Auto Login Windows 7

2009-09-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

Mr. Carter does a good job at explain this:

http://windows7tester.blogspot.com/2009/02/auto-login.html

In A nut shell:

Windows + R
"control userpasswords2"enter
Uncheck: “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer”
OK

Gec Living: Windows 7 Rants And Raves: Older software

2009-09-28T03:22:00.000-07:00

I installed older software that worked on Vista and because it was a virtual DVD drive, it had drivers, obviously not compatible with Windows 7 but compatible with Vista, even though Vista = Windows 7 in some ways. They advertised it was the driver and core system that was unchanged but yet it doesn't work >.<

I have seen RAM increased performance
I have seen cooling performance (might be weather dependent as I have never checked Vista on the same weather, day and conditions)
Yet to see any real battery improvements

So if you can bother to tweak and is obsessed with the performance gains then Windows 7 could be for you1

Rasterise pictures to make a giant poster

2009-09-26T23:42:00.001-07:00

http://arje.net/rasterbator

^ hope this helps, have fun!

How To Get Older Versions Of Software

2009-09-26T23:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.versiontracker.com/windows/

^ Here you go!

How to set a default folder view

2009-09-25T19:08:00.000-07:00

How do you:

Always use detail view
Always use list view
Always use tile view
Always use content view
Always use ____ icon view

Doesn't matter what view you want.

Just open up a folder and set the view to what you want to set for ALL folders.

Folder and search options > View > Apply to Folders > (Answer Yes)

Summarized and formulated from:
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/02/27/how-to-set-preferred-folder-view-in-windows-explorer/

How to restore a deleted bookmark? (accidental deletion)

2009-09-24T16:39:00.000-07:00

Well, if your using Firefox then its as simple as:

Bookmarks > Organize Bookmarks > Import and Backup > Restore > (Select a date that the bookmark wasn't deleted yet.

This obviously only works well if:

You had deleted the bookmark recently
Have not added a lot of new bookmarks since the deletion of the bookmark.

Manually Install a Driver (Vista and 7)

2009-09-24T06:25:00.000-07:00

Start > Control Panel > Device Manager

Right-Click the device > Properties > Update Drivers > Browse My computer for drivers software

Follow the Prompts :)

MS Word 2007 Shortcuts

2009-09-23T21:16:00.000-07:00

Press Alt and labels come up to shortcuts to others.

Am I 32 or 64

2009-09-23T19:10:00.000-07:00

Start > Control Panel > System

Under "System" heading it should say:

"XX-bit Operating System" where XX = 32 or 64
Chances are if you don't know what 64 is, your running on 32. :D

Windows 7 Video Wallpaper :P Yummy!

2009-09-23T19:03:00.000-07:00

I was wondering how to do it because I can do sideshows but no mention of videos. Sideshows = Yummy too ;)

But here is a link that is way more prepared than I am at explain.

But once again for my lazier delightful readers here it is in a Nut Shell:

In good conditions (Aero is turned on and no weird settings has been set):

Download this patch: (32 bit Windows 7) OR (64 bit Windows 7)
Convert the video you want to use into WMV (don't worry if it already is)
Right-click it and select "Set as Desktop"

Converter suggestion by excellent site: Any Video Converter

More information and detail for less lazier users:
http://windows7center.com/tutorials/how-to-enable-dreamscene-in-windows-7/

Enjoy! and Very Very Special Thanks to windows7center.com

DON'T KNOW IF YOUR WINDOWS IS 32 OR 64 BIT? CHECK OUT "AM I 32 OR 64" POST

Windows 7 Rants And Raves: Printer

2009-09-23T14:50:00.000-07:00

OK, so now I did as I suggested in the previous post DON'T USE MANUFACTURER SOFTWARE IF MICROSOFT WINDOW'S SOFTWARE/DRIVER WORKS FINE >.< So I uninstalled fingerprint scanner software, manually installed the fingerprint driver and I sort of have it work, not as good as in Vista though, yet.....

Anyways, tried to install a printer, really old one (Refer to HP Driver post) on how an alternative driver for a newer printer worked for it, turns out in Windows 7 they removed that newer driver for the older printer so now even that newer version of my printer is too old.

FOLLOW UP: Windows 7 originally comes with a limited number of drivers. Hit update drivers in the screen of the list of drivers to download more drivers. Problem solved!

Windows 7 Rants and Raves: Installing Drivers Guide

2009-09-23T03:45:00.000-07:00

Use all stock MS drivers unless it creates a problem.

Like it will usually show as no driver installed anyways, if there is a problem.

To save hassle just let MS load everything it can and don't over-install a driver with a manufacturer one with the exception of say my example where the sound works but my HD driver from RealTek gave a benefit of increase in performance and quality.

Windows 7 Rants and Raves: Wireless shows limited connectivity

2009-09-23T03:33:00.000-07:00

Uninstall driver for the wireless adapter and let Windows find a MS driver for it. :(

Windows 7 Rants and Raves: IN a nut shell

2009-09-22T16:47:00.001-07:00

Good new features
Nice interface
Changing wallpapers :P (In Vista also)

Missing some drivers but which OS doesn't! Get them from the manufacturer
Not that much faster/cooler than I expected but no worse than Vista
UAC is a pain in the but, turn it off! if your not scared of the scary warnings from Windows about turning it off

* Updated due to impulse and first impressions errors made in previous post.

Windows 7 Rants and Raves: Fingerprint Scanner not detected

2009-09-22T16:45:00.000-07:00

So far in Windows 7, everything has been set up, with the exception of:

Bluetooth driver
Multi and SD card reader
HD Sound driver
Fingerprint

Next on my attack list :) : Fingerprint

EDIT: Manually install the drivers for Windows 7 32 or 64 bit. Driver is the "tcwbfadv.inf" file.
doesn't really matter, just point windows to the right folder and it should find the driver.

http://www.upek.com/support/downloads/drivers/windows.asp

Cleaned my laptop to reduce heat. (Heatsink and CPU fan)

2009-09-21T05:25:00.000-07:00

I opened up the laptop from http://www.irisvista.com/ (for Toshiba laptops)

And i opened it all up, cleaned out the heat sink and fans and the CPU reads about 5-10 degrees cooler but what is more noticeable is that the heat is leaking out of the laptop side, instead of being vented under the keyboard, hard drive and laptop base (which elad to my having burnt legs, lap, hands and palms >.<)

Problems were:

I had an extra 4 screws, dam it! so I forgot to put them back somewhere
I am 1 screw short for the body of the laptop (main, biggest screw)
The cables weren't put back as neatly

However, if you are confident about doing this, it is really worth doing (if your laptop has heat problems) I saw a big benefit in it.

A problem though is if you want to open the laptop to clean the Heat sink you might need to remove the CPU off the heat system part, which means you'll disconnect the thermal paste/grease, I put it back together with no problems but most people would like to re-apply new ones after doing that. That was my number 2 regret,, not having any paste there to re-apply, number 1 is obviously losing the dam screws >.<

So, if you want to be hectic, maybe you can even upgrade to Arctic silver thermal paste and increase heat conduction to reduce heat on CPU. Youtube, vidoes and tutorials for appling Arctic Silver to laptop.

Arctic Silver is a paste made form 99.9% Silver and when heated its ment to increase the bond and create a solid connection of silver to pass over the ehat from
CPU to heat sink and then fron heat sink into air (via fan)

Hope this help! :P

Windows 7 Rants and Raves: RealTek Driver for Windows 7

2009-09-21T05:06:00.000-07:00

"My speakers and sound on Windows 7 sounds crap!"

I knew it! I am not a high tech sound freak but I can tell between a standard crappy tiny laptop speakers and a HD Harman/Kardon :P

OK for you guys and girls with A200 Satellites and want to get your HD back, OR if you have RealTek HD gear in your machine try this link and get the latest Windows 7 supported drivers:

http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloadsCheck.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=24&PFid=24&Level=4&Conn=3&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false

I've noticed that compared to stock Windows 7 sound drivers, that the sound quality is of higher clarity and also that the volume at level 20 is louder with HD drivers compared to stock Windows 7 sound drivers.

What is 4G all about?

2009-09-16T21:32:00.000-07:00

Good Question! besides the added speed what is it compared to 3G?

P.S. This is not a rhetorical question post, lol

Auto Harvard Referencer Beta V1.0

2009-09-15T20:49:00.000-07:00

Download the Beta V1.0

Are you sick and tired of formatting and writing up Harvard References?

I am! and I wished I had a way to automate it or use some sort of wizard so I don't need to remember the format on how to write it up. So here it is, an automated way to make Harvard References*

* Not really automatic, use of word of automatic is purely for marketing reasons, human interaction and effort is required but on a lower level than manually writing the references.

List of Windows + ? Shortcuts

2009-09-15T02:05:00.000-07:00

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/window-on-windows/?p=1188

^ Nice list of shortcuts, the most common and useful to me are:

Windows + Tab (3D Flip through of open windows much like the Alt+Tab)

Windows + D (Show desktop, minimise all windows)

What RAM do I need to use to upgrade my ____ computer/laptop

2009-09-13T21:08:00.001-07:00

Check out the tool from Crucial . It will check for your individual computer, so what that means is run their application on the computer your planning to upgrade!

I've used it before, its correct and to my knowledge safe.

Web Cam hacks, dangerous?

2009-09-13T00:45:00.000-07:00

Well most of us should know that web cams in laptops etc. can be hacked, if not, you must be petrified right now.

A good thing to prevent people from spying on you or taking candid photos of you, is that web cams usually have a bright red or blue light that turns on when the web cam is in operation.

The danger is if the manufacturer had designed the light on a different circuit, i.e. power is not needed to go through the LED before the camera gets power, this is because it makes it possible to turn off the light, whilst the web cam is in operation.

I assume that most manufactures would be smart enough to design it to prevent spying but I wouldn't know for sure, sorry.

Saving batteries by turning off pagefile

2009-09-12T05:25:00.000-07:00

That is the theory folks, turning off pagefile will reduce the hard drive usage and hence save battery as the HDDS spin up and down take a fair bit of energy.

Well I got 1 error from vista so far about running out of RAM, better than other versions of Windows, at least it didn't just chuck me a blue screen.

Well now, you'd ask what if you just installed more RAM? well more RAM = more energy use but I'd say less than a moving HDD as proven by the netbooks usage of SSD or Solid State Devices or Flash memory if you wish. Top end ulta portable laptops are also bying sold with SSDs.
The second problem is that according to my manual installing and maxing out my laptop to 4GBs of RAM may reduce performance, how? I'd like to know too.

So now i am currently using a usb flash drive set up as ReadyBoost. I have noticed that the HDD lights flash less often compared to before, it use to flash no matter if i was using the laptop or if the screen was off and no apps were running.
Still though, it seems to flash more than my class mate's Acer mini and Asus laptop.

Did I see a total of 30mins+ of battery increase? no, not really..... Maybe I should try to remove a HDD, weight reduction and power increase.. to be continued maybe, else i might jsut get a new battery, 9 cell :o

WLM (Windows Live Messenger) is not delivering all messages

2009-09-03T16:25:00.000-07:00

WLM is not delivering all my messages and/but does not show me an error so I will end up waiting for a reply from a contact that did not get my message and so in result I sit there for ages waiting for a reply.

Any suggestions? If I find one I'll post it here, if you find one, please post it here twice, lol.

"Please try installing Windows Live programs again." (wlsetup-custom.exe)

2009-09-01T16:09:00.000-07:00

Trying to install the latest WLM from wlsetup-custom.exe but getting this error message.

Solution: yet to be found.

Windows Live Messenger can not get contacts list.

2009-09-01T15:38:00.000-07:00

From September 15th 2009, WLM will require all users to use the most latest version of WLM before they can retrieve their contacts list from the WLM server and without that list you can't actually use WLM or chat to your friends.

What does this mean for you?

Besides getting the latest version of WLM to fix this problem. Does it cause any dramas for you? e.g. your using Windows 98se and can not upgrade (which I doubt very much)?

High Tech. designs in cars can prevent drink driving. Toyota. Nissan.

2009-09-01T04:46:00.000-07:00

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/cartech/toyota-developing-antidrunk-driving-gadget-20090901-f62r.html

Toshiba collects its old laptops from consumers for the environment, for free, cheers!

2009-09-01T04:43:00.001-07:00

Australia, NSW, Sydney councils ban the disposal of e-waste into tips in a attempt to pressure the government to roll out a Long Overdue federal e-waste collection/recycling program.

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/pcs/landfill-ban-for-ewaste-20090831-f5d7.html

Notification Icons in Vista's System Task bar are gone (Fix)

2009-08-30T00:45:00.000-07:00

You have tried to:

Right-Click on bottom bar
Properties > Notification Icons
BUT couldn't re-check them because they were greyed out?

Then try this link, it has nicely detailed instructions BUT they are recommended for advanced users only because they require editing of the registry, although if your a novice and are looking at becoming an IT student like I, then don't worry about what I said, back up all your important data and have a plat around and see how badly you can screw up Vista, its a good way to learn, and Oh, please don't sue, if you played and lost. :)

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/fix-for-when-clock-volume-power-or-network-icons-are-missing-and-grayed-out-in-windows-vista/

Problems with playing games on Facebook

2009-08-29T16:51:00.000-07:00

Many Facebook games allow you to compare and compete against your Facebook friends. Most reward you with extra life, weapons etc. in the game if you can get enough friends or team-mates in the game by having your friends play this game too.

Now this is not a major issues, until or unless you or your children starts to add strangers just for the incentives in the game. By adding a stranger you will allow them access to all the personal information on your Facebook, including other contact details such as e-mails and MSN addresses which can be a danger for your kids against Internet paedophiles and other malicious people on the Internet.

When I was a kid, the Internet and gaming magazines was the place for cheats, but I am not too sure, kids these days might be smart enough to work out that adding lots of random as friends can help them.

So the main thing to remember is to educate kids about the dangers of the Internet and adding randoms as friends but not to scare them off too much, as the Internet can be a good play for entertainment and education. Dependent on how old they are you should probably check up on them every now and then, maybe convertly or overtly but in a nice friendly manner like asking them how do you play this game? wow you got a nice high score and dress it up a bit.

Toshiba Laptop Speakers Drop Out (Going Mono)

2009-08-27T21:24:00.000-07:00

Toshiba Laptop Speakers Drop Out. the only solution I can see for fixing this so far is turning up the volume from the volume wheel and then decreasing the volume from the media player or whatever your using.

anyone else have a more permanent fix?

Unzipping the file turns into a fodler or more zip/rar files.

2009-08-27T07:06:00.000-07:00

You have these files right:

Gec Living.part1.rar
Gec Living.part2.rar
Gec Living.part3.rar
etc.

you unzip/unrar it and you get this:

Gec Living 001.zip
Gec Living 002.zip
Gec Living 003.zip
Gec Living 004.zip
Gec Living 00*.zip
...... etc.

But there is no .exe or any dos programs to compile or uncompress all the zip files. What you should do now is select all the Gec Living 00X.zip files and then extract all the contents of each zip file into the same folder, do not use the option to unzip all the zip files into separate folders, dividing/splitting the contents of all the zip files will make it hard to combine all the files together.

I use IZArc, here are the steps:

Select one of the 3 files, and then extract (for example):

Gec Living.part1.rar
Gec Living.part2.rar
Gec Living.part3.rar

Now, select all and extract here (for example):

Gec Living 001.zip
Gec Living 002.zip
Gec Living 003.zip
Gec Living 004.zip
Gec Living 00*.zip
...... etc.

You should now have your files. this is an example though so it might not work for all cases but this is just one known way that people use to compress files.

Other simpler cases might be as easy as unzipping the 3 parts of the rar file, and then running an .exe or dos command program to uncompress the Gec Living 00X.zip files and re-create the desired contents of the rar file.

Making free mobile calls from your mobile

2009-08-27T06:38:00.000-07:00

Is that possible? to make a phone call or even video call from your mobile phone for free?
Yes it is, is it going to become wide spread? well it depends on how telecommunication companies decide to restrict things, if you can make calls for free what do they feed off?

Its called VOIP (voy-p) or Voice Over Internet Protocol. You can only make free calls over VOIP if:

Your mobile phone supports Wi-fi as that is how VOIP works, over the Internet
Your local WI-FI connection is free, such as at Mcdonalds.
Your recipient has similar phone and set up, or you call their computer instead of their phone

This post is not intended to explain everything for you but rather introduce a new concept so you can go and research it yourself. Commenting with new or more information is always welcomed.

First research phones with built-it WI-FI, then the software to use in order to do this, and lastly if the places you visit often have free WI-FI, if you have to pay for access you'll most likely find that its $2 an hour but if you do the maths its still cheaper than making a call through the mobile network (Provided you are not on a capped plan)*

The most important thing to research is to see if you have the WI-Fi set up but your friends and family use the mobile network, if there is a charge from the software to send your WI-FI data to the mobile network to go to your recipient.

Looking at MSN chat only, it is currently possible for you to use your mobile to chat using a free WI-FI hotspot. Chatting is possible from your mobile to another WI-FI enabled mobile phone and also to computers running MSN.
Please keep in mind that these WI-FI enabled mobiles are usually in the high end range of your mobile phones. you may want to weight the cost of calls to a more expensive mobile phone.

* Statements are generalisations and information may not be correct as they can vary from country to country according to their telecommunication infrastructure, cost and competition between network carriers etc.

If you have FaceBook anyone can see your display picture

2009-08-18T00:05:00.000-07:00

You think as long as you have your privacy settings set high and not accept random people as friends on Facebook you will be fine and no one can see your picture albums.

This is true, but everyone can see your display picture on Facebook or sometimes known as the Facebook picture. To find yourself (very easy to find if you have an uncommon name, flick a few more pages if you have a common name)

Google images: "[your full name] @ Facebook" and hit enter. Wall lar!

[your full name] = your full name (without brackets)

So is Facebook safe?

If do love and need that feature, it it is possible to use a picture maybe taken in a public location, or a cartoon filtered picture of you, if you are not too sceptic on privacy or would risk it for the beauty and convenience of your Facebook.

Firefox 3.5.2 can't save image as

2009-08-15T21:19:00.000-07:00

I recently updated Mozilla Firefox to the latest version and noticed that I can't save images no more, for starters the Right-click Save Image As option was missing and when I got it sometimes, it didn't actually do anything or show any save as dialogue.

I did some Googling but did not find anyone having the same problem so I figured it must be me then and I disabled some add-ons as some of them are not compatible and some I don't use any more, so I un-installed some too.

I restarted and it seems to work a treat so maybe you can try disabling some add-ons and see if it will fix your problem if you are having a similar case to mine. i think because mozilla firefox has so amny add-ons and variatiosn possible much like PC based desktops its hard for Mozilla to test and debug all errors for users who have installed all different pieces of code (add-ons).

So for today Mozilla can still be > IE in my books.

P.S. My suspicions was my problem was caused by the "Hide Unvisited" add-on maybe Firefox has soemthing that does what it does? not too sure haven't looked into it but I have noticed that Firefox will integrate some popular add-on features in its upgrades.

Digital Zoom in cameras VS. Photoshop zoom (crop and resize)

2009-07-30T16:01:00.000-07:00

I've had a feeling before that it might be better for me to take a photo in natural state without the digital zoom (I have yet to date ever owned a digital camera with optical zoom >.<) and then zoom it in Photoshop by cropping and resizing or re-sampling. I got this idea because I found that Photoshop could zoom better quality than other cheaper or basic photo editing tools, maybe Photoshop has better algorithms or simple the psychological idea that $1000 software is better at zooming a picture than a free one.

Here is an article for some food for thought next time when your using that digital zoom on that camera. I'll find something interesting to take a photo of soon and show you the differences with a Nokia 6220 Digital zoom VS. Adobe Photoshop 7.0

Article: http://graphicssoft.about.com/cs/digitalimaging/f/digitalzoom.htm

Here are the sample pics, can you guess which is which?:

One is taken with

Digital zoom
Macro mode without d zoom
Auto mode without d zoom.

(Not in order of appearance), which would you say is best? (DO NOT CLICK THUMBNAILS)

Auto mode without digital zoom, photoshop cropped

Digital Zoomed

Macro mode without digital zoom, photoshop cropped

Press CTRL + A to reveal answers OR Click thumbnails

I will post these on my Facebook and poll my IT and non-It friends and see what their opinions are before telling them the results.

The results are: macro mode without digital zoom, photoshop cropped

The way I see it is the digital zoom adds a soften filter to make the image less grainy and pixey but in turn makes the image less clear and sharp for large screen viewing. So it could be safe to say that not all digital zoom are weak? You could find one that uses the same algorithm as Photoshop and in that way have exactly the same effect?

As you can see the digital zoom one had bad croping from my shaky hands, I will continue to NOT use digital zoom and crop the pictures myself for a safer and better cropping as I can control what I do want and don't want after the picture was taken but if you screw up during the digital zoom the rest of the data is lost at the time you take the photo.

But.. for those who don't want to muck around with software then thats really the whole point digital zoom was invented, that and also it fools unexpecting consumers into thinking it has zoom.

Do you agree?

Nokia 6220

2009-07-30T04:03:00.000-07:00

Here is a fix to battery problem for Nokia 6220. How to fix short battery life problem for Nokia 6220. Way to extend Nokia 6220 battery life?

^ that's the type of queries I was searching for in google when I read reviews on the Nokia 6220.

Don't rely on me to do a review on the Nokia 6220, its easy to find ones that really detail all its nice little presents, Try YouTube even, its got a few good ones. also search it up in GSMArena.

So why am I writing up a review if i am not going to review the phone? Well I am but what I am going to do is just clarify all the scary stories about the Nokia 6220 in review sites all over the Internet.

Here are the bad things/Myths people have said about the phone:

So.. Lets do some "MythBusting" on some people's scary reviews. I was scared for one so lets see if I can save people from missing out on a decent phone?

The keys are cheap plastic and feels like a toy

I don't think I would have minded the keys too much without reading reviews and noticing them on purpose but it is not as extreme as some people say, saying that the keys feel like it will break off BUT it is in fact a big harder to use than phones with separate keys or keys with a gap in between but I guess it is possible to get use to it but I can see how unlocking the keypad can be difficult at times due to closeness of keys. If you don't have big fingers i don't think it will be a problem at all.
The battery life lasts only 12 day or 3 days if your really lucky

Well I got ti today and played through all the menus and all the apps and camera etc. and its still on full bars, also played games for like 30 minutes and also checked the time like constantly. So this does disprove the reviews about it lasting 1 day only and needing nightly recharges. My theory is they either have new firmware that corrected a battery leak somewhere OR those people who heavy 3G users like sit there hours in park using Internet on phone but for the people who said they made a few 5 minute calls and a few SMSs and the phone died i think they might have a different batch of phones (so not to call them a liar)

It has lasted exactly 3 days for me from morning till night but for me because my phone is new I've been adjusting the settings and personalising it like crazy, also used the blue tooth for hours sending stuff to myself, palyed games for hours, sent multiple sms and also made a few minute calls, not to mention mp3 etc. so putting that into relativity I would say if i used it the same ammount of time for the same purpose as my old nokia 2100 I would most likely get almost a week. P.S. I was also experimenting withthe GPs within those 3 days.
It doesn't have a 3.5mm headphone jack
Nope, but a 2.5mm headphone is supplied but i rarely use it as an MP3 player so i guess its not a major issue.
Camera actually sucks despite being an awesome 5mp camera with Xenon flash?

Xenon flash is brilliant and very bright making any dark room photography excellent.
The most impressive thing especially for this price is the modes in the camera as most phone cameras have a night mode and that's about it but the 6220 has a range of photography modes like night mode for dark environments, sports mode for fast shutter speed without blur, close up mode for clearer macro shots and the list goes on for a little bit more.
A true dream phone for the minor photographers especially due to the shutter speed, I managed to get an ok shot in the car whilst it was moving, even my old digital camera had blur when shooting something moving at all, but thanks the Nokia's anti-shake, stabilisation, fast shutter and focus speed it produces a happy result.

Remember to put it into sports mode first for best quick shot results.
Sound quality is not too good

Its alright for calls and music playback, quite clear and somewhat loud but calling isn't as loud as my old Nokia 2100 (black and white phone, lol), and yes i do know you can change the volume but yeah I usually hold the phone far from my ear because my old 2100 was too loud :\ so no problems again i guess unless you have hearing difficulties and need a very loud phone but this phone even on speakerphone isn't the loudest phone I've heard.
The phone is slow at processing

The phone is a tad slow compared to my old 2100 but I mean putting it into relativity, you are loading up features that are MBs in size. For that I am impressed, longest thing would be taking a photo, it takes a few seconds to process before next photo can be taken but its acceptable level unless your a rapid and advanced photographer in which case i have to question why you don't have a 10MP SLR camera with custom lens....?
Any of your own questions or reviews(or myths) you want me to iron out?

tba

Summary - If you don't mind the following above you should have yourself one high tech mobile phone at a affordable price.

Remember fellow Australians, This phone is now $229 at Vodafone shop and DSE to my knowledge, with locking to Vodafone though. That's a good buy (to my current knowledge until the phone shows its real colours) Search up specs. because for $229 it really is a big difference to what you can get for around $200 marked phones

Thunderbird sending password Problem (Gmail)

2009-07-29T15:27:00.001-07:00

"sending of password did not succeed. Mail server pop.gmail.com responded: Username and password not accepted."

"Sending of password did not succeed. Mail server pop.gmail.com responded: Username and password not accepted."

Solution:

Using MS Excel as a things to do calendar

2009-07-27T03:46:00.000-07:00

I just thought of a good application/program/software to use to help me manage my University assignment due dates etc. and my personal things to do list.

Microsoft Excel has a sort function which is all you really need to help sort the dates of things you need to do from closest to furthermost. Excel sorts the dates into date format and data type so it makes adding things to due at the bottom of the list as you think of them efficient.

Say for example you remember that you need to do something about half way in between your things to do list you can add it at the bottom of the list and then go up to the date column and right-click and choose sort ascending and volla, you have sorted all you things to do by date again without needing manual labour to figure out where in the list you should add your new to-do item.

Here is a sample of what i have in my current list that you can copy and use, the tile headings can give you added benefits.

Date due | Subject | Task | Notes | Importance

1/2/2009 ISIT100 Project log PDF version due 1
2/2/2009 ISIT100 Project log Soft copy to tutor 1
4/2/2009 - Buy milk 3

As you can see in my example there are many headings/title you can experiment with like Importance title to sort and filter out the most important and urgent tasks at the top of the list.

Submit your ideas for the use of a title/sorting system, whether its Uni related or not as a comment below.

EDIT:

Using the books at the bottom of the screen also known as "sheet1", "sheet2", "sheet3" can you divide your things from Uni, Work, Personal, On-going, Once-Off and save it all into one Excel file so its kinda like having a things-to-do application, with all your different lists inside one icon. Great! :P

Use Windows Calendar to keep track of things to do

2009-07-27T00:59:00.000-07:00

A good application/software to use to manage University assignments and things to do lists.

Launched by:

Windows + R
Type in: "wincal"
Enter

Official location or shortcut locations still begin researched (as I accidentally deleted the ?Start Menu one)

Clearing/Removing MSN Live Messenger Chat logs/history

2009-07-27T00:45:00.000-07:00

1. Open up Live Messenger:

Tools > Options >Messages tab
Uncheck "Automatically keep a history of my conversations
Apply
Re-check it

OR

2. Type in the Windows Explorer address bar:

C:\Users\UserName\Documents\My Received Files\MSN Username + random numbers\History

In your case, most likely:

C:\Users\Username
Documents\My Received Files\MSN Username + random numbers
History
Delete all contents of folder

On second thoughts, it might be easier to just use step 1.

Do I need a wifi in my mobile phone?

2009-07-26T04:06:00.000-07:00

I am looking at a phone that has every feature in today's mobile market possible with the exclusion of: Wifi, accelerometer (for auto screen layout and misc uses), 5MP instead of 8MP camera and possibly a projector (Only 1 or a few manufacturers at the moment)

So the question is the phone i am looking at is priced at the same level as a 3mp camera with nothing else meaning it has GPS , large memory, 5mp camera instead of 3mp as bonus for the similar price.

Only critical feature missing is a wifi and accelerometer for luxury.

Do you need wifi, if it meant not having it can save you $500? Here are the benefits:

Instead of being charged a high price for 3G Internet access you can have it for free, where hot-spots are free just like laptops can.
Use of MSN for free
Use of MSN's voip and video call can mean you don't get charged for services from your phone operator but still have the functions of your 3G phone.
Surf the net whilst being bored
Download games and other applications like a miniaturised laptop
Wifi hot-spots are becoming more common and also free in public places
Operators charge high fees for Internet usage over their mobile network

Here are some cons though:

Batteries in most feature filled phones won't last long, it operates like a laptop and hence only has a battery life of one, surfing and voip-ing on MSN will only give you a few hours of battery life
Surfing the Internet on a mobile phone is bad ergonomics for hand, eyes and neck and wrist
You need friends who have MSN on all the time to be able to substitute a call or SMS
You can get mobile Internet data allowance on capped plans so you can use Internet over mobile network without surprising fees which might dependent on usage be cheaper than forking out another $500 for a phone that has wifi.

My verdict, unless its critical you get Internet access all the time it might be worth putting that $500 towards a laptop or towards your next mobile phone which should be cheap and have wifi and most likely some other feature not yet invented.

Revealing of the phone i have in mind will take place if i get it, so not to jinx it, LOL.

Why is broadband so expensive in Australia and cheap in Asia?

2009-07-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

This is an excellent site to read, it will give you all the ammo to pretend you know what your saying like most of us ;)

http://scott.yang.id.au/2004/01/why-is-broadband-expensive-in-australia/

nVidia 6600GT Can not use DVI

2009-07-21T04:40:00.000-07:00

I have had this problem for ages, where only the VGA will work on my 6600GT and LCD monitor. When i plug in the DVI cable I get a "no signal" message or the screen goes into standby mode.

Solution: For Windows XP just go

Start > Control Panel > System > Hardware > Device Manager (Should be the same in vista)
Find and click nVidia 6600Gt from the list, should be under the "display adapters"
Drivers tab > Update driver
Give it a while and it should be fine (for windows XP)

If it doesn't then you have to go to google or try:
http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

Got my DVI up and working and tried on a new 18.5" LCD monitor and like wow at the vibrancy, contrast, colour and size.

EDIT: I talked about problem and solution forgot to mention cause of problem, lol. Well the problem is just that your driver is too old to recognise or use DVI in the correct format and or resolution well to my quick research and memory I think that's what happened.

Can't get DVI working with my nvidia 660gt, DVI no signal on nvidia 6600gt, solved DVI problem with nvidia 6600gt, how to switch DVI on instead of VGA for nvidia 6600gt, use DVI instead of VGA for nvidia 6600gt, how to enable DVi and disable VGA on a nvidia 6600gt

Samsung G800 Black Screen

2009-07-19T04:43:00.000-07:00

I brought one of these and set it all up, charged battery, turned it on and hmmmm the LCD screen back light is on so the LCD is somehow working just that there is no pictures, there's sound and all.

My analysis says its a connection from the video card or whatever it is to the LCD screen cause the back light works but no colours are displayed.

Calling tech. support asap but seriously if its a lemon out of the box then the brand and quality control is so so. What gets me more is that Nokia's made in China are better than my Korean-build. Wahh?

EDIT: Returned it Tech. Support said not to bother as it was brought so recently, so now i don't have a chance to review a Samsung phone on this blog for yous. Looking at some Sony Ericsson though.

Can not open battery cover

2009-07-19T02:31:00.000-07:00

Some devices like phones and such devices that have slide off lids or coveres instead of traditional stick a screwdriver or fingernail and lift up lides can be at time annoying to open or even near impossible.

The trick is to add more grip to it, a suggestion i have is to apply an elastic band that is fit for size for the device and use the elastic band to grip and slide off lid. Please be careful and thoughtful for when using this, look out of things like LCDS or other things that wouldn't go well with elastic bands and rubbing an elastic band along it because remember if you apply force on the battery luid cover you can apply some of that force also onto the bottom of the device.

this method is also good for opening jars, and food lids and caps. ;)

REVIEW: Dynamo solar-powered & wind-up torch

2009-07-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

Just brought this on OO.com.au as well for $20 which i thought was good value as for $20 i can get a wind-up torch only at the local hardware store. This is my first LED torch and i am impressed.

Pros:

LED bulb
BOTH Solar and wind-up powered
Durable and water proof
Has a cool bluish ting to it
Has 1 or 3 LED mode so you can adjust brightness and power consumption
Also has a flashing mode for biking at night or emergencies? not too such of designed usage but is defiantly useful to have.
Having a back up recharge soruce is excellent for emergencies, if you accidentally snap the wind-up handle at least you can still recharge it during the day, also good for camping etc.

Cons:

There is a centre focal point in brightness where the centre is brighter than the rest of the light, (like traditional torches but you don't notice them as much in trad. torches because its not as bright.

Summary:

for $20 it is well worth it for the functions provided and is worth spending if you just chuck it in the glove box of the car and never use it, cheaper than any insurance company premium I've seen.
Worth it still even for the kids to just play around with it
Amazed at the LED technology
Just have to see if the warranty or durability lasts out

REVIEW: i-Rocks FM Transmitter

2009-07-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

I just brought one of these from OO.com.au for like $15. What does it do? Well it modulates your music into an FM signal so you can pick it up in your car's FM radio which allows you to play mp3 music without installing a new CD player which can cost up to $100s.

Pros:

Plugs into smoke lighter port (bad for those without one in their car)
Has a USB port so it can read mp3 music from a USB flash drive or HDD, which is good as i didn't want to aary a mp3 player with me but it can also support mp3 player through an analouge jack.
Cool bright blue LED
Has an extra USb port for devices like HDDs which need more power to run.
Easy to use

Cons:

I brought the model with 4 channels (88.3, 88.5, 88.7, 88.9) and i get somewhat interference with all channels in my car. Could be different with different cars due to aerial placement?
Due to interference it might be better to just plug in a mp3 player into the AUX jack of the car (If you have one) or burn CDs if your skeptic of quality but if you have a heap of music you want to listen to and can't do that with a mp3 player or a CD amd don't mind a bit of interference this is certqainly worth buying especially at $15 its worth it to just play with the technology.

Summary:

If you don't mind the quality of the audio then this is good espeically for those with liots of jusic that they want to play randomly because a HDD and thumd drives are cheaper than buying a 10, 20 GB mp3 player or burning 1,000 CDs

How can I find out where someone is via their mobile phone?

2009-07-17T05:33:00.000-07:00

They will need a GPS enabled mobile phone and also allow you permission to view their location.

Check out: http://www.google.com/intl/en_au/latitude/intro.html