Rolling your own Car PC

With a bit of DIY work - none of which requires ripping out the dashboard of your brand new car, we might add - you too can have a CarPC.

Gliffy

Two guys with some time on their hands have created a tool that might just become a Visio-killer. Gliffy is a free diagramming tool that works entirely in your browser. Like other online apps, it has inherent advantages over traditional software. Collaboration is easier,and so is publishing diagrams you create to the web.

read more

Stop Windows Update from Nagging

Sweet, sweet tip.

Anyone who is running Windows XP SP2 know what I'm talking about. That stupid, annoying, most ill-designed dialog box ever invented in the history of the computer science that asks "Updating your computer is almost complete. You must restart your computer for the updates to take effect. Do you want to restart your computer now?"

- Blogs.wdevs.com via winxpcentral.com

Note:
If running XP Home, modify the registry as follows:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/328010/

or set this reg key = 1:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWAREPolicies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AUNoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers

100% CPU

If you right click an icon or file in Windows Explorer or on your XP desktop and you find that the processor is being pegged, then you see in the Task Manager that the Csrss.exe process is using 100% of the CPU resources, it may be because your user profile has been corrupted. You can fix it by deleting the old profile and creating a new one, but be sure to read and follow the instructions in KB article 555021 at

http://www.wxpnews.com/BG41NK/060627-Processor_Pegged

Shadow Internet

Lunaflare reports:

I wonder how many people know about the "shadow" internets around the world?

There are 3 major US-only defense networks, each one with their own classification.

It starts with NIPRNET [wikipedia.org]. This is the lowest classification for things that are sensitive, but unclassified (SBU). This network actually has gateways to the internet so a user on NIPRNET should be able to access all internet resources.

The next classification is secret, enter the SIPRNET [wikipedia.org]. This network is for classifications up to secret and is what most of the DoD uses.

After that is JWICS [wikipedia.org], the top secret network. Actually it's SCI [wikipedia.org], more than top secret services. This is what most of the Intelligence Community and intel-related DoD users use.

Each of these networks is supposed to be air-gapped from each other, but they do everything the normal internet does. There are websites, email, IM, blogs, wikis, you name it. A user can access these networks (I'm guessing) from almost anywhere in the world.

Interesting that the internet is so powerful it has been replicated like this in these shadow internets.

10 Amazing Torrent Sites

10 Amazing Torrent Sites June 2006

How To: Redirect a web page, the smart way…

Lets say you are updating your website completely, changing the names of page's filenames (ex: file.html to file.php) and so on, this is great, you should stay updated! But what if you want to get rid of those old pages without having to worry about those who go to the old web page and see nothing? It doesnt end there either, other visitors do include major search engines such as MSN, Google and Yahoo! If people are finding your old pages when querying in these search engines, and they attempt to go to that page that has been deleted or moved, they will get a "404 File Not Found" Error! Now i know you dont want that, no webmaster wants that!

The best way to redirect those pages is by using something called a "301 Redirect". What this 301 redirect does, is it blatantly redirects to a different page when it is triggered, what makes the 301 redirect the best, is that not only does it accomplish your redirect, it does it safely, no having to worry about the search engines penalizing you for it! To be specific, the 301 redirect tells the browser, or in other cases, it tells the search engines "Hey this page has been moved, here is the correct URL!".

301 Redirect Using htaccess

Serial port emulation

HW VIRTUAL SERIAL PORT
Serial port emulation. Software tool adds a virtual COM port, (COM 5 for example) and redirects the data from this port through the TCP/IP network to another hardware interface, defined by IP address and port number.....(free)

via shellCity

Frankly, why?

Better Windows Service Manager

WinServices is an enhanced Windows Service Manager. You can start/stop services, but also you can view and change all service data such as state, description or name. WinServices allows you to create a snapshot of the current services, and later compare it with a new configuration, to see which services have been changed, added or removed .....(free).

via shellCity

Keyboard remapper

KEY TWEAK (free): Keytweak is a keyboard remapper for Windows, makes use of Microsoft Scancode Map registry key

via shellCity

Intelligent transparency

Ghost-It! is a program that runs in the system tray, and lets you turn windows into "ghost" windows. Ghost windows are very special windows. First of all, a ghost window is translucent, meaning you can see through it to whatever is underneath. Secondly, a ghost window will always appear on top of other windows. Thirdly, when a ghost window loses the input focus, it remains translucent and always on top, but all clicks will pass right through it like it wasn't even there—until it becomes the active window again.

freeware via xtort.net

Props for Office 2007

Anil Dash surprised me when he offered kudos to Office 2007:

But Microsoft did it anyway. They killed the File menu, along with all the other menus. They added a giant, weird circular target up in the corner. They actually use part of the title bar as a menu sometimes. They even changed the default font in all the apps. What's amazing is not just that it works, but that it works so well.

My experience has been the same as most of those who I know that are using the new version: Word went from being frustrating and confusing to fairly straightforward to use. PowerPoint went, in a single upgrade, from being the worst widely-available presentation software to being the best. Excel is a fundamentally different kind of spreadsheet application, focused on presenting information usefully instead of optimizing for the creation of complex formulas.

I used to make a big part of my living doing customizations on top of Office, so I still know it pretty well. It also means I can be a harsh critic of their decisions around the platform. But this time I've got to give it up: By radically changing the user interface in Office 2007, Microsoft made the riskiest bet in the history of commercial software. And I think they're going to win the bet.

Remote control a DOS PC

An amazing program to remotely control a DOS machine - New Version!
If you need to remotely control a true (no Windows) MS-DOS machine over a TCP/IP network from a Windows or Linux machine, I think this is the only game in town. You'd be surprised how many people still want to do this. New version supports VGA graphics modes!

via josh

And check out Josh's adept reminder that a PC controls wires:

TriggerPin is Big j Software's new home automation tool. It allows you to execute programs on your computer based on electrical input from the outside world. It can replace thousands of dollars worth of real-time digital and analog controls with a couple of pieces of wire and some spit.

A 4 GHz System

This configuration is geared for users who really want the best possible price/performance ratio, and whose budgets are tight.

Shopping List - Budget Version
Component	Designation	Price	Remarks
Processor	Intel Pentium D 805 2.66 GHz (Dual-Core)	$122.00	Remains stable even at 4 GHz
Motherboard (7.1 Audio etc,)	Asrock 775Twins-HDTV (Socket 775)	$82.90*	Affordable dual-core motherboard
RAM	2 x 512 MB DDR2-667 Adata Vitesta PC2 5300	$78.55	Also runs at 333 MHz (667)
Hard disk drives	2 x 160 GB Samsung HD160JJ (7200 rpm)	$132.98	RAID 0 configuration
Water cooler	Thermaltake Bigwater SE Cooling Kit	$129.99	Simple water cooler
DVD burner	LG GSA-H10A 16X DVD+/-R 8X DVD+R DL 4X DVD-R DL 8X DVD+RW 6X DVD-RW 5X DVD-RA	$37.00	Comes in black and beige
Case with built-in PSU	Broadway.com 500W Mid Tower ATX w/OKIA 550 ATX P4 & AMD ready PSU	$67.49	Mid-price PSU option
Graphics card	Asus Radeon X1300 Extreme 128 MB, PCI-e	$66.00-
Total	4 GHz DIY-PC (Budget-VERSION)	$716.42	See Asrock note below
* ASROCK mobo	Not yet available in North America		Price converted from Euros to dollars
Shopping List - Top-flight Configuration
Components	Designation	Price	Remarks
Processor	Intel Pentium D 805 2.66 GHz (Dual-Core)	$122.00	Remains stable even at 4 GHz
Motherboard (7.1 Audio, RAID, Gb LAN etc.)	Gigabyte G1975X (Socket 775)	$246.20	Top-Board for Socket 775
RAM	2 x 512 MB DDR2-667 Adata Vitesta PC2 5300	$78.55	Also runs at 333 MHz (667)
Hard disks	2 x 160 GB Samsung HD160JJ (7200 U/min)	$132.98	320 GB in a RAID 0 array
Water cooling	Koolance Exos AL	$278.98	Very good extreme water-cooling rig
DVD-burner	LG GSA-H10A 16X DVD+/-R 8X DVD+R DL 4X DVD-R DL 8X DVD+RW 6X DVD-RW 5X DVD-RA	$37.00
Case with PSU	Broadway.com 500W Mid Tower ATX w/OKIA 550 ATX P4 & AMD ready PSU	$67.49
Graphics card	Asus EN7600 GT, 256 MB, 350 MHz	$229.99	Fast, affordable graphics card
Total	4 GHz DIY-PC (Top-Flight version)	$1223.16

reinstall XP with no product activation

Need to format your hard drive and reinstall XP, and don't want to have to go through the product activation process again? You can save the activation status info and then restore it after you reinstall the operating system, as long as you haven't made any changes to the hardware. Here's how:

1. Before reformatting, in My Computer, double click the drive letter on which you installed XP, and navigate to WINDOWS\System32.
2. Click "Show the contents of this folder" if necessary.
3. Copy the following files to a floppy, USB drive, CD/DVD or network location: wpa.dbl and wpa.bak.
4. After reformatting and reinstalling XP, select NO when asked if you want to activate Windows now.
5. Restart in Safe Mode.
6. In My Computer, open the WINDOWS\System32 folder and rename the existing wpa.dbl and wpa.bak files (if you have them).
7. Now copy your old wpa.dbl and wpa.bak files to the System32 folder.
8. Restart and you should not be requested to activate again. This only works when you reinstall Windows on the same computer and the hardware remains the same.

DATA MINING WITH GOOGLE

According to the author, "Out of a class of 80 fourth year computer engineers maybe four or five knew how to use Google to perform any sort of advanced queries. Google (and many other search engines) has the ability not only to search on keywords, but also using a more “database-ish” query language to really narrow down your search results. This is a summary of a few of the most useful lesser known features".....(free).....GO THERE!

via SHELL EXTENSION CITY

LaserJet 1022

...fed up with buying $40 inkjet cartridges every other month and did some searching to find an affordable black and white laser printer for printing paperwork (we use Apple/Kodak's iPhoto print service for digital photos). The HP LaserJet 1022 printer ($180) is the best we found for... [More]

USB microphone

The Snowball ($150) is the world's first professional USB microphone and is said to rival pricey studio-quality ones. The plug-and-play mic features a dual capsule design, unique three-pattern switch, and... [More]

Embed features

Turn your $60 router into a $600 router

Guitar to USB

• Digital quality sound input
• No need for a sound card
• About $40
  

LightSnake Guitar Cable to USB port

Online Greasemonkey Guide

DIVE INTO GREASEMONKEY..........Online book instructs you how to use the greatest Firefox extension of all, Greasemonkey. Greasemonkey allows you to write scripts that alter the web pages you visit. You can use it to make a web site more readable or more usable. You can fix rendering bugs that the site owner can't be bothered to fix themselves. You can alter pages so they work better with assistive technologies that speak a web page out loud or convert it to Braille. You can even automatically retrieve data from other sites to make two sites more interconnected.....(free).....GO THERE! via ShellCity.net