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Archive for July, 2009
Browser Tip
Thursday, July 30th, 2009Blue-ray to become cheaper in 2010
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009Although Blue-ray has won the HD-drive war more than a year ago, the DVD format is still currently the king. The main reason is certainly the high prices of virtually all Blue-ray players on the market. However, prices are expected to fall by next year and if that will be the case, it will only be a matter of time until production of DVD players finally comes to a halt. This might also mean that the price of a brand new PS3 can come down, but that will also depend on the marketing strategies that Sony will choose to adopt.
For more information on Blue-ray click here: http://www.blu-ray.com
500GB on the move
Sunday, July 26th, 2009Hard-drives which can hold a lot of data are no longer something new but usually these come in the ‘large’ 3.5 form factor. However, recently big drives in the more mobile small factor (2.5) have started to appear. One such device is the LG XD 2. This is basically a 5400 rpm drive which is fitted into a sleek black or white case. A backup program is also included and the device comes with anti shock mechanism in case it drops from your hands! Of course this device is USB powered.
For more information click here: http://www.lge.com/products/model/detail/hxd2u25pl.jhtml
The Wait is over: Windows 7 released to manufacturing
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009On Wednesday 22nd July, Microsoft announced that Windows 7 has been released to manufacturing. Windows Server 2008 R2 was also released on the same date. MSDN and Technet subscribers will start receiving the new operating systems in the coming weeks, whereas general customers will be able to purchase Windows 7 as from the 22nd of October.
For more information on:
Windows 7: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/home?os=nonwin7
Windows Server 2008 R2: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/R2.aspx
Software Tip: Fast way to insert the current time in an Excel cell
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009To insert the current time in Microsoft Excel without having to access the menus just hold down Ctrl and Shift and press the colon (:) key. This works with both right and left Ctrl+Shift combinations.
Babylon Translation
Sunday, July 19th, 2009Babylon is a single-click translator, dictionary, converter, and information tool that enables users to get definitions, translations, conversions, and relevant information. It lives on your desktop and lets you get relevant information on the topics that you choose (medical, sports, computers, music, and so on) by clicking your desired word term or number. It also offers definitions and information from hundreds of glossaries such as Amazon, Britannica, Dietwatch.com, Accuweather, and more, as well as from private users glossaries. Nevertheless, the main feature is surely the instant translation from English to 12 major languages: English to English, Chinese simplified, Chinese traditional, Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. There is also an automatic update feauture which gives you the latest information at your fingertips. You can also save any of the results you get for future use, connect to the site to subscribe or download more glossaries, build and publish your own glossary, send greeting cards, or participate in an online Babylon forum.
Download Babylon Translation from: http://www.babylon.com
Temporarily prevent StartUp folder programs from launching
Saturday, July 18th, 2009It is possible to prevent the programs in your Windows StartUp folder from automatically launching. This is helpful for troubleshooting issues or for fast boot-ups. Start your PC, and when you see the Windows logo screen, hold down the Shift key until Windows is fully finished loading (keep holding down Shift until the disk stops churning). Next time your restart, all your startup programs will run again (unless you hold down the Sift key again of course). This method does not turn off services which run from the System Registry and works with any version of Windows from 95 onwards.
Tweaki… for Power Users
Wednesday, July 15th, 2009As the name suggests this program is similar to an old well-known program (TweakUI) by Microsoft. Many of the options deal with the appearance of the Windows interface, but go far further than you can with the standard Windows options. But the appearance is only just the beginning of the story. The software also allows you access to boot options, Microsoft Office settings, control of your startup options and more. One of the most useful features is the ability to create your own right-click context menus. For example, sometimes you might want to only view a GIF file, using your ultra-fast graphics viewer, while other times you might want to edit it, using your slow-loading power-packed graphics editor. Using this feature, you can quickly and easily add both options to the context menus; right click on the GIF file, and they’re both there. Anyone running any sort of system or shared-access computer will find some of the security features invaluable; the well thought-out options can keep even the most curious of users in their place, and you can even restrict access to the software via passwords if need be. Two other features that deserves a mention: Holding the mouse over each option will popup a message displaying the default setting for that particular option, and also whether or not a reboot is needed. Another little gem is that of being able to save different aspects of your operating system settings – useful for backing up and transporting to another machine. These include areas such as keyboard configuration, dial up adaptor settings, file associations and more.
Download Tweaki from: http://www.jermar.com/tweaki4.exe
Vista SP 2 on Italian and other languages
Monday, July 13th, 2009Techieviews has recently covered a lot of news regarding Vista Service Pack 2 but failed to mention one important thing: to date SP 2 can only be installed on Windows Vista in any of the following five languages: English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. If your computer has any other language installed you will have to wait for the multilanguage ISO, which Microsoft will release later this year.
PC Tip: How to avoid file disasters
Monday, July 13th, 2009There is a thing … a real bad one which I see frequently on PCs operated by beginners: data files (Word docs, Excel sheets, etc …) scattered around the hard-disk without any logical sense. It is of utmost importance that users understand from day one what is a directory/folder and understand their purpose.
If you don’t put your data files in logically named folders it will be more difficult to find these files later on and also there is one particular shortcoming in the FAT file system (if you still use this old file system) which is known as the ‘Maximum entry limit in a FAT root directory’. In fact if you’re trying to create files on the root directory of a FAT drive and get an error, this usually means that you have exceeded the maximum entry limit of 512.
There are a couple of things to remember about the 512-entry limit:
1. Long filenames (more than 8 characters) take up more than one entry.
2. Hidden files, which don’t show up in the file count at a command line, also count toward the total number of entries.
So if you want to avoid file disasters create a logical structure of folders and sub folders and save your files in them.