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21 days ago
[The following is a copy of a message I originally wrote in the Windows 7 Tips & Tricks, Put your great tips here! message thread on Scot's Newsletter Forums on November 9, 2009. AG] Hello, Here's how to simulate a Windows XP "Classic"/Windows 2000 style Start Menu on a computer running Microsoft Windows 7 : First off, a little maintenance: Right-click on the Start Orb, select Properties from the popup context menu, click on the Taskbar tab and de-select (uncheck) the Lock the taskbar option. Right-click on any empty spot of the Taskbar and select Toolbars → New Toolbars from the popup context menu. When the New Toolbar - Choose a folder window appears select " C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu " as the directory to use for a Toolbar and click on the Select Folder button to choose it. After the new Start Menu ...
25 days ago
Hello, Malwarebytes accusation that IObit has infringed on their intellectual property has received a bit of attention in news and and blogs, and a good deal more discussion about what happened—or did not happen, or may have happened—is occurring in various web forums and mailing lists. Having worked in the anti-malware industry for a number of years (even so far back as *gasp* when it was called the anti-virus industry) I had some small interest in the matter, however, I have more interest, frankly, in clearing up what I see as a lot of confusion. So, just to be clear, the opinions expressed are my own, and not those of my current or any past employer. If I got something right, or there's a part you agree with, that's probably because of something I learned from one of my smart co-workers. If, on the other hand, I got something wrong, or you disagree with it, violently or otherwise, well, that's probably my fault. As I understand it, there seem to be several related ...
462 days ago
Oddly enough, I shall start my report of Gnomedex 2008 not with how it began, not with how it ended but with what happened after I returned home to California. I missed my flight back at 7:00AM, but was able to get on a later one at 9:30AM without a problem. My baggage did not arrive on the flight. Nor did it arrive on the 2PM flight. Or on the 4PM one. A little after 4PM I received a call on my business cellular phone from a number with a 512 area code. For those unfamiliar with that area code, it is for Austin, Texas. Presumably, it is for the surrounding metro area as well, but in this case, the caller was from Austin. It turns out, though, that she was in California, too. Except 120 miles away from me. She had mistakenly grabbed my bag and driven away without checking the luggage tag. Or the claim ticket put on my bag by Alaska Airlines. She flew Southwest, by the way. The claim ticket is the thing which airports tell you to ...
622 days ago
An acquaintance of mine who is a prolific vlogger collects user-submitted tips and records them. Normally, I do not do those kinds of things—I am more of a web-based forum-kind-of-guy—but I thought it might be fun to share (and perhaps expand a little) on the email I sent him. A quick run down on things one might want to do before installing Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 1 on your computer: Before making any major changes to your system, it is always a good idea to back up your valuable data files. Vista includes a backup utility you can access by clicking on the Start Orb and typing " backup " into the Search field, or by using a Vista-compatible backup program such as Acronis True Image , NovaStor Novaback or Symantec Ghost . Download and install the latest device drivers for your computer's hardware. Device drivers are small programs that allows your computer's hardware to talk with the operating system. When a service pack ...
874 days ago
It is not every day that you have an epiphany... even if it is kind of just a small one, the type you can have every day and carry around in your pocket. There was a phone book sitting on my doorstep this morning as I left my apartment. At least, I assume it was a phone book. It was a plastic bag with the familiar AT&T logo on it, and it was definitely filled with something about the size of a phone book. When I moved it little bit more out of the way with my toe as I exited my dwelling, it felt like a phone book, weighed as much as one. It even moved like one—slowly, they way you would expect a dense, weighty book crammed into a plastic bag. When it settled after I had moved it out of the way so I could leave, it even sounded like what I thought one would sound like: A thump of a noise, felt as much as heard as it shifted off my doorstep and onto my doormat. It wasn't that I was so much late for work—it was only 10:45AM or so (I do odd things, so ...
