Weather Underground is a site just about everyone has visited at one point or another. Personally, I’ve been using the site for years. WU is one of the oldest web sites on the internet, and in fact is so old that that it’s original 1992 (yes, 1992) version was accessed via the telnet protocol. That [...]
AOL Project Phoenix IMAP Review
February 28, 2011 by 1 Comment
Over the course of the weekend I finally received my invite for the new AOL Project Phoenix email service. I had already tried it previously with an @love.com address, but I really wanted one ending in @wow.com which is another domain AOL owns along with @games.com and a few others. I was able to get [...]
Screenshot Pimp For Firefox
February 25, 2011 by 2 Comments
When I changed over from Firefox 3.6.13 to Firefox 4 Beta 11, the standard utility I use for ‘complete page’ screenshots, ScreenGrab, was not supported in Fx 4. However the alternative Screenshot Pimp is fully supported and works great. If you need a utility to grab quick screenshots and save videos, Screenshot Pimp is highly [...]
Retro Friday: Mozilla Firefox 4 Beta 11 In Windows 2000
February 25, 2011 by 1 Comment
Firefox 4 does work in Windows 2000 with no issues whatsoever, however it’s most likely true your Win2000 setup requires a browser that’s as speedy as possible to overcome slower hardware limitations. While Fx 4 is faster on startup, rendering web pages and shutdown, here are some easy things you can do to make the [...]
How To Stop Forced Reboots For Windows Updates
February 24, 2011 by 2 Comments
When you run Windows 7, you periodically are forced to reboot because of automatic updates. There are methods to stop that however. Disabling forced reboot for current session 1. Open a Command Prompt using ‘Run as Administrator’ 2. Type sc stop wuauserv, press Enter, done. What this does is turn off the reboot nag notices [...]
Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Now Available
February 24, 2011 by 8 Comments
Windows 7 SP1 is now available from Windows Update. First question answered: Is there a difference between x86 and x64 SP1? Yes, the installer will be specific per your architecture: What this means is that if you intend on doing offline installations of SP1 for varying x86 and x64 systems, you will need to download [...]
Play YouTube Video From Within VLC
February 23, 2011 by 6 Comments
VLC is an amazing player. Truly. One of the lesser-known features is its ability to play streaming video. What does that mean exactly? It means you can use VLC to play YouTube videos as well as several other video streaming web sites. Example using YouTube: First, get the URL of the YouTube video you want [...]
What’s The Most Secure Way To Store Data On A Laptop?
February 23, 2011 by 6 Comments
When it comes to identity theft, stolen data and so on, portable/mobile devices are a big target. All someone has to do is leave a laptop in the open for just a few seconds in a public area and *poof*, gone. Having a laptop stolen will ruin anyone’s day. And you’ve probably seen many different [...]
A Wireless Mouse That Lasts 18 Months On A Single AA Battery?
February 22, 2011 by 2 Comments
On my desktop PC I have absolutely no wireless peripherals connected mainly because I consider swapping/charging batteries for a desktop computer rather ridiculous. Until now. This peripheral will make an appearance in this week’s newsletter but it definitely deserves its own article because yeah, it’s that good. I give you the Logitech Wireless Trackball M570. [...]
Want An Easier Way To Disconnect A USB Device? Try ‘Eject’
February 22, 2011 by 11 Comments
Whenever you connect a USB storage device in Windows, an icon is present in the taskbar allowing you to click and "remove safely" with a right click: The only real annoyance here is that the icon for it is tiny; it’s too easy to accidentally click on another icon near it. The alternative method for [...]
Virtual PC Cheat Sheet For Shared Networking In Older Windows
February 21, 2011 by 1 Comment
More people are setting up virtual PCs today than ever. Whether it’s for legacy applications, old games or just for nostalgia, having virtual computers is becoming much more common. One of the biggest gripes about virtual PCs can be boiled down to a single question: How do I share files between the virtual PC and [...]
Is A 6-Month Wait Necessary For New Tech Products?
February 21, 2011 by 8 Comments
A standard statement millions of people have made over the decades concerning new-to-market consumer electronics is this: I’ll wait 6 months before I buy it. If you ever wondered why 6 months is the magic number, there’s really nothing magic about it. In the business world, that’s two fiscal quarters. Generally speaking, any consumer electronic [...]
Retro Friday: Subnotebooks
February 18, 2011 by 1 Comment
What’s now known as the netbook originally made its appearance as a subnotebook several years prior. If you worked in a corporate environment back in the mid-to-late 1990s, the one you probably remember is the Compaq Contura Aero in 4/25 (486/25MHz) and 4/33 (486/33MHz) flavors. You may also remember the the 410C and 410CX models. [...]
What’s The Best Small-Res Friendly Webmail?
February 18, 2011 by 3 Comments
There are a ton of people out there, maybe yourself included, that use a 1024×768 resolution either via a size-down utility like Sizer or as your native resolution. When using webmail there are certain providers that are better than others. Let’s take a look. Hotmail Pros Left sidebar is easy to navigate Left sidebar menus [...]
How To Play YouTube Playlists With A Keyboard Shortcut
February 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Important note before you watch the instructional video below: As I found out after I recorded this video, it is possible to play a playlist directly from a YouTube channel. Click the playlist, then click the first video and once finished, the next video in the list will start – however this is listed absolutely [...]
