Monday, December 30, 2013

USB Windows Installer Winsetupfromusb

http://www.winsetupfromusb.com/
Looks like may be able to have two or more windows install versions on one drive. Worth a try. I have found this is hard to do so will try this if need to reconstruct my flash installers.

To add a windows install to an existing usb without formatting use EasyBCD
http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-make-bootable-windows-usb-without-formatting/
Use the "deploy bcd" button.

EasyBCD can be made portable by installing, copy the directory somewhere, uninstall.

Control Mouse With Keyboard

Yes I have been on a PC with no mouse while trying to trouble shoot. Here is a link explaining how to use the keyboard.
http://www.ghacks.net/2013/12/30/use-keyboard-control-mouse-windows/

Sprint Galaxy S4 Stock ROM Flash

I rooted my S4 but when I tried the hotspot hack I froze on the yellow Sprint screen. Restore did not solve it so I had to flash a Stock ROM. Nothing worked so you can imagine it was alarming for awhile.

When flashing Android 4.3 you must use Odin v3.09. Select the "AP" slot for the file and check "reboot" only. Don't bother with the rooted version because it will not be rooted anyway.


QBKing77's video on rooting works but do not do the hotspot hack.

Friday, December 27, 2013

Delete Google Plus Auto Backup Photos

Wow this was way too hard to find. I had a photo on Google Plus that I did not want there whether private of not. It was a picture of my drivers license that did not need to be in the wild. Finding how to delete it was a trip. This was the site that helped http://www.vlogg.com/11373/how-to-delete-googleplus-auto-backup-photos/

Essentially when you are logged in to Google, go to this site
https://plus.google.com/photos/autobackup
and delete away.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Use VLC to play bluray on pc

Follow these instructions.

http://windows7themes.net/playing-blu-ray-on-windows-7-or-8-yes-vlc-can-play-bds.html

1. Download and install VLC (I have 2.1.2 and it worked)
2. Open the Windows Explorer using Windows key + E on your keyboard. Then enter %appdata%
3. The explorer should jump directly to C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming – right-click into the blank white area and create a new folder and rename "aacs"
4. Head over to http://vlc-bluray.whoknowsmy.name/ and download the two files and place them where told.
5. I had to go to  vlc/tools/preferences/codecs/Skip H.264 in-loop deblocking filter = all to to stop the jerky playback.

This played Acts of Valor without a hitch but would not play Despicable Me 2 so latest protection not covered.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

PogoPlug Kills Network Bandwidth

First off just don't buy a Pogoplug. It simply kills the local network.

If you must have a Pogoplug because it is cheap then the very first thing you must do is activate the device. Plug it into the router and go to:
http://pogoplug.com/activate/
If your light is solid green then the device will probably activate.
I did not have any interest in backing up to the cloud, I just wanted to access an attached drive.
After activation I  could see the attached drive and its files.
Despite not doing cloud backup and not transferring any file, the internet was basically unusable. Whether this was local network saturation or internet bandwidth, I have no idea. But there is scarce technical information to help even if adjustments would help. I am on a 10Meg DSL connection.

I have not idea why just having PP attached would kill the network. I glad it was cheap $24 because it is useless to me.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

SSD Benchmark Results

I am running AS SSD Benchmark on my SSD drives.
http://www.filehippo.com/download_asssdbenchmark/

I haven't been here in awhile. Here is a cheap Nvme boot drive result.

I have hesitated using the write benchmarks but really want to know.
(We really no longer worry about writing to SSD)

Plextor PX-128M3, Intel Core i5 2500K @ 3.30GHz, ASRock Z77 Pro3

OCZ Agility2, Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo P8400, Gateway IMV (U2E1)
4K read speeds are way too low and sequential writes are too low. The bus is SATA 300. Running 1.35 firmware most current is 1.37 so needs updating.

For comparison, here is an ATTO benchmark:

Here is the Hitachi 320 GB 5400 RPM in the same laptop:



How Much Memory Can Your PC Handle?

On way to tell is download this little Crucial program (portable). It will scan a give suggestions.
http://www.ghacks.net/2008/08/14/safe-computer-memory-upgrade/

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

PC Benchmarks

PC Wizard is a poor man's benchmark and it has become more meaningless as fewer reference sets exist. So I am keeping some of the benchmarks for my own reference.

119GB PLEXTOR PX-128M3 (SSD)
I don't get the cpu results here nor the
hard drive results.



Deer Stand Curtain Fabric

http://store.magnafabrics.com/cart.cgi?group=8416&child=28523

Friday, September 20, 2013

PDF Printing In Linux

Installing a PDF printer in Mint is very easy.
sudo apt-get install cups-pdf
 
Now the printer is available and files go to a PDF folder in your Home folder. 

Saturday, September 14, 2013

BitTorrent Sync

2019-01-21 I don't like any of these . . .

2017-06-22 Now Called Resilio (BTsync) seems easier to use this time I tried it but I think Syncthing is better for me.
(I have found this a pain in the butt to use)
Linking your personal computers and their selected folders is easy with Dropbox. Sometimes it is uncomfortable leaving your files accessible to a third party like Dropbox or those who hack Dropbox. BitTorrent Sync may be a viable solution. This will set up private BitTorrent between computers. I think this is outstanding and much faster than other methods.

It would even be great for sharing large files with others. They will need to be able and willing to use BTSync. If they are not then maybe they don't need the file :)

I installed it on two computers. Let the program install a default folder in the user account and dropped a test file into one folder. I copied the "secret" code into the second install.The file magically appeared in the second computer's default folder. New sync folders can easily be added or deleted.

Under "show folder preferences" a one time code can be created with a 24 hour time limit with full or read only access. This could work for large file transfer to people. It would be easy to drop a new folder containing the file into your Bittorrent Sync and send the code to someone.
No third party server is involved and transfers are stated as being secure. Steve Gibson says it is secure. (go in to about 1 hr 7 min)

Setup is mindlessly easy but I have only done this on a local network as yet and not off site.

Here is a good little YouTube explanation.

Setting up mobile is completely crazy. Install BTSync on the mobile and create a folder. Then create a folder on a PC that is only for things you want synchronized to the phone. When you go to preferences on the PC and select "connect to mobile device" a QR code will pop up. Scan it with the mobile BTSync and the "secret" will be read into the mobile app. I believe you would want a special limited folder for mobile because of the mobile's limited storage.

It would take some planning to handle the storage with BTSync. Unlike Dropbox there is no cloud storage to hold the data and folders can not exist inside of folders. This is a completely cool and effective method of syncing and sharing data.

But honestly, the cloud is very handy and day to day I will still use Dropbox on a regular basis. And BTS for more specialty transfers.

Spinrite Not Booting

On the refurbished Dell at one station I am getting some lagging and can't isolate the cause. Spinrite won't boot. I need to see if RAID is turned on in BIOS or flip the AHCI mode and see it that is the cause.

Friday, September 13, 2013

My New Das Cherry Blue Keyboard

I now have a new Das mechanical blue keyboard (on sale). First off the click is not nearly as loud as I expected. I like the lighter touch and the audible feedback is great. I can see why people prefer a mechanical keyboard. The bad news is using a normal keyboard feels much worse now. Ignorance was bliss.

The experience is hard to describe but definitely better with mechanical. I can't say the world is changed forever but I'm please to have it. It feels like I need to use better typing posture than the sloppy hand movements I have become accustomed to using. Maybe I should say it benefits from a better key strike or encourages better key strikes. Or maybe it is all part of acclimating to the mechanical keyboard. This one does not have the wrist wrest that my old one had so is actually more tiring. I may need to find some way to incorporate a wrest but don't know what that would be yet.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Ebay Sniping

Why would I call attention and encourage bidding competition I don't know? But this is a great sniping site. http://www.gixen.com I just grabbed a Samson Go Mic for $4.84 with $10 shipping. That puts it a little under half of the new cost and where it should be. I don't know why it went so low when all the others go for higher. I can only guess that the lack of bidding and high shipping caused it to slip through. I credit Gixen for placing the bid at the last moment and my not having to bid it up along the way and call attention to it.

A great feature of Gixen is grouping. You can bid on several of the same item and place them in a group. Once one item of the group is won, the others in the group are cancelled.

I appreciate the simplicity of the bidding. Just set your top price and let it go. Yes eBay does this but it shows that you have bid and calls attention to the activity. With Gixen, no one knows you have set the price.

I've tried Jbidwatcher a few times but needing to keep the computer running diminishes the value.

Gixen has been around for some time but I never tried it. I don't say you are going to win often or steal anything. You do stand the chance of getting a deal but the ease and organization of bidding is where the value lies for me.

Currently I am determined to buy a Blue Yeti for under $60 including shipping and it just isn't happening. Gixen just may get it for me.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Email Encryption

I went to Reagan dot com to keep the NSA at bay, someone said to me a few days ago. Sorry, but that ain't going to do it. NSA is grabbing your email (probably) before it ever gets to the Reagan servers. The only way to keep your nuclear codes safe is to use encryption. I don't have any nuclear codes but here is a simple way to send encrypted Gmail with a Chrome extension.

Secure Gmail is simple and two people simply need a password. I don't see where it even takes any resources but maybe I am missing something. Here is a LifeHacker link discussing it.

Here is a link for http://www.mailvelope.com/ which has a Chrome extension. Here is Mailvelope's resource usage:
But Mailvelope is much more complex to set up than Secure Gmail.


Get Dropbox

Use this link to sign up for Dropbox THIS LINK. When you use this link, I get 500 Mbps credit for a larger box. Then use your own link to invite your friends to increase the size of your drop box. Don't let the length of this post intimidate you. Dropbox is dead simple. Just do it.

Dropbox will give you the opportunity to invite everyone in your Gmail. I chose not to do this as with any time some service offers this method. It just feels wrong :) I prefer to send selected people my link.

If you tell Dropbox to automatically upload photos from your phone, Dropbox may give you more space if that deal is still valid. You can turn that off later if you wish and still keep the free space. I let my phone pictures sync with Google Drive because it works better for me.

Dropbox has been around forever and is not new but I am using it more and more. My box size is now 50+ GB and all free. I use Google Drive extensively also but for different reasons.

Be sure to install Dropbox on all the computers you use regularly. Dropbox becomes a folder on those computers. Then Dropbox keeps the information in that folder synchronized as well as available in the cloud and available online.

Dropbox is somewhat secure from casual prying eyes but has been hacked in the past. You can add more security in different ways. On thing I use to keep certain numbers that I would not want public is a little encrypted and password protected file called Steganos Locknote.exe. LOCKNOTE LINK  It is not only a program but the file itself. When you open Locknote, simply add test like any notepad. When you "save as" you then set the password. You can rename to "mycrazyname.exe" just like any file. If you close the file with the upper right x it will keep the established password with no hassle. If you choose "save as" you can change the password.

This is what LockNote looks like the first time you open it:
I use Locknote in other ways on my PC and on Flash drives.



Friday, September 6, 2013

Ammyy Remote Desktop

Ammyy is a slick and free remote desktop tool. File transfer works fine. Ammyy says all traffic is encrypted but I would use some caution as to what I was transferring.

Ammyy does not install so deleting the program removes it. Ammyy does place a "data" folder in C:\ProgramData that should be deleted separately if Ammyy is deleted. Also if you have instructed Ammyy to install the Ammyy service, you should tell Ammyy to Ammyy>service>remove that service before you delete the program. The service can easily be removed later but that is a different issue and instruction.

When Ammyy is started it provides an id number. That number will be remembered on the system and is used to connect by either providing that number to another party or using it yourself to access the PC from another location. If you have installed Ammyy as a service (and have that service started), Ammyy does not need to be running on the host computer in order to access the host from a remote computer.


When leaving Ammyy service running it is a good idea to set up permissions and password.

Download speed varies I'm sure but here is an example: No speed demon but gets the job done.

I have not yet been able to connect using an IP address for some reason and have only had success with client id numbers. This is while using the Ammyy service. Maybe IP would work with Ammyy program running on both.

I see a lot of warnings on Google about Ammyy scams and dangers. As far as I can tell this amounts to someone with a heavy accent calling and saying, "I'm from Microsoft and I'm here to help you". If you are stupid enough to listen then you have more problems than Ammyy.

I like it for the following:
No install
Easy (once you realize the service must be started if Ammyy is not running) (the service will start with reboot if set to automatic or you must start it manually if no reboot).
File transfer works
Fairly fast
No need to forward ports
Free with no limitations or nagging about upgrading.

I was not able to connect with someone in a hotel with a high speed internet access provider and splash page. I assume the HSIAP's router was blocking the ports somehow and I am trying to figure that out.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Host File Editor

http://hostsfileeditor.codeplex.com/
Editing the host file is more complicated in Windows 7 and using this little program is a much easier was of doing it.

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Quickly Annotate Graphics With FastStone Capture

Sometimes I just need to draw a quick circle around something, draw a red arrow and type a couple words. I don't want to whole Gimp scenario or even Paint.net for additional formatting.

FastStone Capture to the rescue (the old free version from here). Start FS Capture and drag/drop the graphic onto FS. Choose "draw" and do it. On Win7 I need to turn off anti alias in the draw module to keep FS from freezing (small check box on lower right). The "off" sticks so you only need to set it once and FS will remember the setting. I previously thought I would need to re-capture and only just discovered I could drag and drop the graphic to open it in FS.

Another handy thing FS can do is take a scrolling capture of an entire web page (6th icon over on the FS bar).

FS Capture of all the capture programs I have tried still remains my default capture utility. With Launchy running, I type alt-space, fs and bingo the little FS bar is up and running. How could beat that? You see, I don't like more things running than necessary and like to keep them closed unless I really need them.

PicPick is more robust but also not as slick and quick.


Sunday, August 25, 2013

Raspberry Pi "My Notes"

Edit Nov. 2016
6 things to do after Rasp 3

I bought a Raspberry Pi some time ago and installed the standard Linux for RP. Then I tried the XMBC version which was underwhelming compared bo Roku but I only gave it a few minutes. Then, after months of inattention, I lost track of how to install the RP OS. I should have left some notes for myself.

When I get back to RP I need to start here. This shows what all the ports are but the OS links don't work.

Get the latest version of Raspian and use Win32 Disk Imager to write the  img to the SD.

When using Win32 Disk Imager use a USB SD reader. An internal reader may lock up and cause you fits - it happened to me. I know, it sounds crazy but it worked.

When you first boot Pi it may take awhile but make sure your monitor is set to HDMI input. Also while it was booting and my monitor was black, I swear I saw some color flashes on the Pi board next to the red light. Maybe seeing things but would give confidence things were happening.

This video will help you with the raspbian config. There are more settings needing alteration than one might imagine.

If you need to set an the network settings this site will help. Or maybe this is better.

Maybe visit the Mothership at Element14.

User name: pi
Password: raspberry
Terminal type: df
startx

If I get totally lost I can go here.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Blue Snowflake USB Microphone

I just landed a new Blue Snowflake USB microphone off eBay for $21.50. The price on Amazon right not is $34.98. I use Google Voice all day long as my phone and the Logitech USB desktop mic I grabbed for $10 some years ago lacks quality at a comfortable distance. The Logitech works and I've used it to death but a little better quality would be appreciated by my listeners. It will be interesting to hear the difference. I'm considering going whole hog and getting a Blue Yeti.

Yes the Blue Snowflake is good to very good depending on how close you are to it.

I don't want a bunch of mic posts so here is what to do if mic volume keeps resetting. At least I think this is what did it. I fixed it awhile ago but don't remember how exactly. The mic levels were changing wildly as I used it and this is my setting. Uncheck allow applications to take control.

Be sure to have updated audio drivers . Reaktek here. New drivers improved the quality of the Snowflake.
There are many ways to tell if your microphone is working. You can always go online and test it here. Volume and quality will still be a mystery but at least you will know if it works.

Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920

I don't have it yet but here are some links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5WcWKGnJiI
Is a video explaining the checking the "auto" boxes for default for camera start allows the camera to calibrate and then you uncheck them for video recording. No one else mentions this.

It is currently $69 on Amazon which is $4 from its bottom price. I may need to pull the pin.

Yep, waited too long and it is up to $79 so still waiting.

Finally got it for $68 and it is every bit as good as the reviews say. The mic sounded a little hollow but picked up well. I use the Blue Snowflake which is the best mic I have at the moment. I'm still trying to get a deal on a Blue Yeti. The webcam software allows you to select the mic and that overrides the Windows default. I like this but didn't realize which mic I was using right away.

Here is my first YouTube test of the C920. A miserable attempt but shows good quality before any adjustments (whatever those might be).

The software is outstanding. Upload to YouTube, send to email, go to video folder - everything is obvious and easy.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Birds


With distance behind the object and telephoto, the depth of field is good, bokeh.

I'm loving my Canon SX50 and found a great forum of bird guys using the camera.

I'm going to need some resources for bird identification.

Bird recognition poster




Sunday, August 11, 2013

Adding Subtitles To Video Clips

Adding Subtitles To Video Clips

Use Format Factory

Set up the font and color for the subtitles in FF under options/subtitle font

Make a *.srt file with Notepad with this format:
1
00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:24,400
Howdy!

2
00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:27,800
Why, hello there!
What's your name?

You will need to view the clip in software that will give you the times while you are creating the *.srt file.

Save the clip with "name.srt" and use UT-8 Encoding.

Select the clips output while encoding in FF, MP4 or AVI or whatever and under "settings" expand the "Additional Subtitle" and search for the file. FF will insert the subs when it encodes the MP4 or AVI. I'm not sure how many formats while accept the srt.

Friday, August 9, 2013

Canon SX50 For South African Safari in April?

Camera for safari?

This page got a ton of hit so let me say I bought the camera and it is fantastic. I would not hesitate to buy an SX50.

I would jump on the Canon SX50 right now if Canon Rumors hadn't said the new model was being announced Aug. 21 2013. Anyhow, I need a place to keep my notes.

Oh, I know, It's not an SLR and the only thing it has going for it is the 50X optical zoom. But it does have a 50X optical Zoom! Those who love them post great pictures and I am not one to juggle a bunch of lenses while bumping around in the rear of a land rover.

Here are detailed video tutorials on the SX40 that would be similar to the SX50

$369.00 Canon SX50 (ordered today)
$019.95 Lensmate 58MM Lens Conversion Adapter Ring
$035.00 HOYA 58mm Pro-One Digital Filter (to protect lense) Digital does not need UV
$022.99 2 Pack Of NB-10L Batteries And Rapid AC DC Charger
$005.95 Aiptek ZAC-STD-5 Tripod (Oh, please - $6?) Light and recommended by Ken Rockwell. Didn't notice not Prime eligible so pd $14 darn it.
$006.00 Shutter Release from eBay for that zoomed moon shot on the Serengeti (North of where I'm going but I like the sound of it).
$005.25 Hippie Camera Neck Strap from eBay Hope it doesn't clash with my Buff.
$003.00 Lens Cleaning System clean Pen eBay
$003.59 Flexible Grip Bubble Monopod eBay The little octopus thingy. ordered
$014.58 Case Logic DCB-304
Need a case as holster to keep camera around neck from banging on things.
$023.99 Transcend 32 GB Class 10 SDHC Need a few. ordered one to see.
$009.99 Monopod great reviews and so cheap! ordered (need ball and plate) no Prime item

The lens is 67mm but everyone does 58mm adapter without negative effects to save money.
Many hate filters as protectors and I may hold off but the idea always appealed to me. I will use plain glass.
With stabilization I should only need tripod for low light and extended exposure. Hey, throw it in.

High UV Buff here.
TAG Safari Clothing
REI Packing Cubes
Our African countries use electrical adapters M, D, G C with M being South Africa.



I suppose I should post the obligatory free hand moon shot. Mosquitoes were eating me alive so I'm surprised it went even this well.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Uninterruptible Power Supply

I have normally used APC uninterruptible power supply (ups) units like this one, currently $120, for mission critical pc units.

The key phrase is "line interactive" which levels out the power stream in addition to simple surge protection.

Friday, August 2, 2013

LastPass Not Logging On To UPS Site

I copied this from the LastPass site. It works. I may try it for other unruly sites. Proof again that if it bugs you, someone has likely already solved it.

  1. I got frustrated enough with UPS.com's multiple-page login (seemingly) not working with lastpass, that I put a little effort into figuring it out. It almost works perfectly (few caveats).

    Go to: https://www.ups.com/one-to-one/login?loc=en_US (change "en_US" to your language and country codes if applicable. For example, "fr_CA" would be for French Canadian)
    Type in your username and then choose Save All Entered Data from your LastPass toolbar (this is where you say to yourself, "yeah, yeah... heard it before. But keep reading")
    Click OK
    Now go to your LastPass again and edit the site you just saved.
    Delete every field except "uid"
    Click Add Field
    Enter "password" for name
    Select "Password" for Field Type
    Enter "passCollect" for Form Name
    Click OK
    Type in your password into the newly created password fieldord field

Monday, July 29, 2013

Metro Vacuum ED500 DataVac 500-Watt 0.75-HP Electric Duster

I just received my Metro Vacuum ED500 DataVac and blew out one of the old Dell machines. Temps were 50-51 C before cleaning. Temps are 34-35 C after. I will never touch another expensive can of air. I highly recommend this item for cleaning.

Be careful when buying. On Amazon there is another model that is more expensive but is the exact same thing (according to reviews). I paid $51 shipped.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Oki Printer Drivers

Our trusty B6100 Oki does not have a driver for Windows 7-64. We use the network function of the printer with IP set to 192.168.20.184 (for my reference).

Choose the Oki C7100 (PS). Works fine.

Edit: the B4545 drivers did not work properly. The spooler world not clear completed job and would hang after one print job.
We tried the Oki B4545 (PCL) driver and it worked. (PCL = printer control language)

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

New Samsung HW-FM55C Soundbar Sweetness

My family gave me a great father's Day gift, A Samsung HW-FM55C Soundbar purchased at Costco for $309. I was looking for the Vizio 5.1 bar but they were out at Costco so they bought the Samsung. It is a 2.1 which is fine with be but I was a little worried.

I love it. Simple to set up but I suppose they all are. The sub was not in sync out of the box but in a few minutes it fixed itself. One thing that impresses me is I can always hear the voice channel. Bluetooth works fine.

I can rock the house when desired but if quietness is necessary, I don't lose the voices.

Connection is like this:

media hdmi out > hdmi in soundbar > soundbar hdmi out > hdmi in TV
choose hdmi on the soundbar with the soundbar remote source button
choose the TV's correct hdmi source
all should work

I needed to turn things off and on the first time and select the TV's hdmi more than once.

The sub seemed to be out of sync at first but shortly worked things out on its own.

Here is the manual.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Canon ImageClass Scanner

Setting up the Canon ImageClass is fairly easy but here are are few suggestions:

1. If setting up on a network use Printer's menu and set the correct IP settings before you install the drivers.
2. You will need the Toolbox as well as the drivers if you wish to scan.
3. If scanning over the network, push the scanner button on the printer and select "remote"

Get drivers here.


Thursday, July 18, 2013

Silverlight Is Out of Date

I have been receiving "Silverlight is out of date" error messages in Chrome for awhile. Searching for a solution brings no help. Windows 7 64 bit. This would happen when streaming Netflix, etc. It was no big deal because I could select "play this time". But I hate not having things work normally.

Do this: type "about:plugins" in the address bar. Look for the Silverlight entry and you will find "download update" and install. I would give you a screenshot but after you do this, the Silverlight entry disappears.

Trying to download Silverlight in a traditional method never works and you will get a "Silverlight is already installed" message. It seems I could never find the 64 bit Silverlight through traditional methods.

I found this while looking for why my Shockwave was crashing, which is a whole other story.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

TRENDnet 500 Mbps Powerline Ethernet

I have a pair of these coming for $66. Lost my Roku remote and need to use wire. I always wanted to try these anyway. Crap, just found my remote after ordering ... But finding the remote is good news.

Monday, July 15, 2013

ROKU Remote Online

http://remoku.tv/

This is a browser based remote for Roku with keyboard function. Cool factor is high but I still can't figure out how to get the wifi on Roku set up without the original remote which is temporarily missing.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

LG-55LM4600

Just bought an LG-55LM4600. Normally I drift toward the top on electronics but for $700 I figured what the heck. Picture is very good and sound is fine for TV speakers. I have not yet seen any evidence of 120 Hz and have read the HDMI will do it. Now I have RGB connection.

If I were to do this again I would get VIZIO M551d-A2R 55" 1080p 240Hz Razor LED

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Inkscape

I don't use Inkscape very often but need a place to store links and hints.
Here is a good tutorial site for Inkscape.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Excel Macro Protect Unprotect All Worksheets

Protecting/unprotecting multiple worksheets within a workbook is tedious. Here is a macro for doing either for all the sheets at one time within a workbook.
If you have a workbook open that contains one macro, that macro will be available to other open workbooks or worksheets if macros are enabled in that workbook.
I have copied the information from here in case his site goes south.

If You've Never Run Macros Before
By default, Excel is set to prevent macros from running. You will have to use the following steps once to allow macros to run.

• In Excel 2010:
Choose File, Options, Trust Center, Trust Center Settings, Macro Settings, Disable All Macros with Notification

•In Excel 2007:
Choose Office Button, Excel Options, Trust Center, Trust Center Settings, Macro Settings, Disable All Macros with Notification

• In Excel 2003 and earlier:
Choose Tools, Macro, Security, Medium
Switch from Excel to the VBA Editor
Every Windows version of Excel since 1993 includes a powerful VBA development environment lurking behind the worksheets. You can use VBA code to add new functionality to Excel. To get to the VBA environment, follow these steps:
1. Type Alt+F11
2. From the VBA menu, select Insert, Module
3. Press Ctrl+R to display the Project Explorer
You should now see a blank white canvas where you can enter VBA code on the right and a list of worksheets and your new module on the left, as shown in Figure 1.
Fig. 1
17MrExcelFig01

Paste the Macro
Copy and Paste the following lines into the VBA editor:
Sub ProtectAllSheets()
    For Each ws In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets
        ws.Protect Password:="secret123"
    Next ws
    MsgBox "All Worksheets Protected"
End Sub
Sub UnProtectAllSheets()
    For Each ws In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets
        ws.Unprotect Password:="secret123"
    Next ws
    MsgBox "All Worksheets Unlocked"
End Sub
At the two spots indicated in Figure 2, type the real password that you would like to use. The password in both macros should match.
Type Alt+Q to close the VBA editor and return to Microsoft Excel.

Lenovo Batteries

When ordering Lenovo replacement batteries be sure to check the numbers on the battery itself. You can not simply order a T400 replacement and expect it to fit.

Our T400 on one is
11242T4752Z1ZHFE12VF5L (42T4752 should be enough to identify)
Google results

Our T400S is 42T4691 Google results

If needed for spec., Lenovo site for batteries.

Fix File Associations For Microsoft Office

If Microsoft Office does not associate properly with an xlsx file, here is a little program that will fix it. It will fix other associations also but I recently had a problem after installation of Office 2010 and later uninstalling Office 2003.

Program here: Nice little stand alone program. I suppose there is a way to fix the association without the program but it defied my attempts and I ran out of patients.

Go to "File Type Settings" and on the bottom left choose "Change 'Open with' programs. Then find xlsx extension and choose next. Now Excel 2010 should appear as a choice. Windows refused to show Excel 2010 as a choice without this little program and manually locating Excel and choosing it from within Windows would not stick so this little guy is doing something special.

Friday, June 28, 2013

Google Takeout Downloads All Your Google Files

Want most every file and picture associated with your Google account? No emails.
Use Google Takeout. Check the little email notify box on the bottom left and let the takeout build. When done you can download the zip file.

You can even open docs and spreads created within Google Docs.

I am trying SpinBackUp to backup Google Drive. It is easy and works but when I download a native Google Doc, I can't view it. Spinbackup is still a good easy solution that works automatically.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Amazon Prime Movies

Edit: I am enjoying Prime more the longer I have it. Yes, I am buying more but Amazon's prices are getting more competitive on computer merchandise so that may be the reason. The streaming selections are a surprise. Amazon has some things I have wanted that were not available elsewhere. Seasons 1-2 for "Suits" for example were not on Netflix or Hulu.

Summary first: The free streaming selection is sadly lacking but it does have seasons two and three of Downton Abby.

I finally tried Amazon Prime. No reason really, we paid very little on shipping anyway and only ordered when we had enough to qualify. Netflix works fine and I use it off and on like all my other OCD endeavors, always or never.

Finding free worthwhile movies tricky on the Amazon site. I'm still not sure how plentiful they are but I did find one way to locate some of them, IMDB. Just log into IMDB with your amazon account and add Amazon watchlist movies from there. Once I got a little more accustomed to Amazon's site I was able to find them but they don't make it easy.

I will probably  keep Prime for the year. There is a certain feeling of power when ordering Prime items with free 2nd day delivery. They may be a disappearing breed but all mine have qualified so far.

I already have recently viewed movies that I never used. Maybe the NSA is sharing my account.

My panel's HDMI will not sync with Roku or WDLive. Their interface may be better than Amazon's. A PC hooked to the TV is the way to go anyway. Throw together an A4 thru A10 AMD and stream away. Mine is an A4 and works fine.

For what it's worth, I have given up on Plex and all the other media interfaces and just use good old Windows and a browser. The others are cute but the quirks are not worth the effort.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

GIMP Extensions Pack for Windows

Trying to install the Gimp Animation Pack or simply finding it is currently impossible. I decided after great deliberation to try installing GAP through the extensions pack, which I never previously trusted and thought was a cruel joke. Holy Cow it worked. What a great compilation. Many thanks to the originator of the compilation installer.

Finding working plug-ins and extensions can be a struggle. This link provides and install program for many of the plug-ins in one package and claims to keep them up to date. Of course reinstall of the plug-ins and extensions would be required. I was shy about using it and tried installing the GAP portion, which is impossible to find anywhere else. GAP worked perfectly. Here is the full link:
http://registry.gimp.org/node/27656

For a quick portable version with many tweaks and improvements go to Partha's place. You can also grab the cutting edge beta version. http://www.partha.com/

Recently installing the entire extension pack seems to be too heavy so I started being selective. However installing one plugin from the pack may break another that is already installed. I am back to installing individually. Anyway this is what I currently install:

My addons to Gimp
gmic
resynthesizer (mostly for the healing function)
Layer via Copy/Cut
Place layer into selection
Scale layer to image
Save for web
Wavelet denoise
Wavelet sharpen
FX Foundry (but I don't use it often)
layerfx script (a little quirky)
fake hdr effects (not too useful but at times can perk something up)
Gimp Paint Studio (maybe)
Script-Fu http://www.gimphelp.org/script28.shtml#downloads
High Pass Filter

Settings I do:
Do not show layer boundry:
From the main menu, navigate to Edit > Preferences > Image Windows > Appearance
Uncheck Show Layer Boundary under Normal Mode and also Fullscreen Mode
Restart GIMP to for the changes to take effect

Move active layer:
Select the Move Tool for the Tool Box in the left panel
In the Tool Options dialogue box check Move the Active Layer
From the main menu navigate to Edit > Preferences > Tool Options > Save Tool Options Now
Restart GIMP

Mouse Wheel increase/decrease brushsize
edit>preferences>input controllers
double click "main mouse wheel"
highlight Scroll up>edit>select decrease brush size
Do opposite for Scroll down

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Meet, Meet the Gimp.org

I just found a new great Gimp site. Of the highest value is all of the old video podcasts of Meet the Gimp found on this page. Just download them all into three folders and start watching. I have seen this site before but not previously discovered the bulk download page.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Just Installed Linux Mint 13 Within Windows

I haven't used Linux for awhile so thought I'd give it a try. Mint was good last time I tried it so decided on v13 which is the version providing long term support at the moment.

Download the ISO and mount it with some virtual drive software like WinCDEmu. Start the Mint installer and choose "install within Windows". This sets up dual boot but allows uninstallation from Windows "Add/Remove" programs.

Install was flawless. Upon reboot Mint starts and the screen was black for too long so that was unnerving. I am in Mint now and I hope reboot shows the dual boot. I'm streaming now but while typing this in Firefox typing is starting to lag. That's irritating. I changed streams to see if lag goes away. Bitgravity works better than Ustream for me. Yes the lag went away.

Media:
The Magic behind Mint was always media working out of the box. This install was no exception. Probably Ubuntu works that way now, too. I opened and watched an episode of Nixie Pixel in honor of the Mint installation. Flash works.

Wifi worked without issue.

NTFS drive access worked with full access. I could not see the Windows OS folder so editing or fixing Windows is not useful unless I'm doing something wrong.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Setting Up VPN

Best video I've seen on setting up VPN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIcaE5YotmY
or
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/forum/index.php?p=/discussion/369/how-to-setup-vpn-connection-on-windows-7-my-easy-way/p1

sharing center
change adapter settings
file, new incoming, check user
through internet
default allow access
note computer name
see new connection
cmd
ipconfig
see address of server 192.168 etc
may wish to set static ip
go to router, port forward, pptp 1723 1723 put in server ip
run open \\windows pc name

then do client
sharing center
set up new network
workplace
use my internet
enter server ip

Set up connection for both lan and wan if needed
check for wan at whatismyip in browser

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

List Of Remote Desktop Software

Ammyy seems easy.
http://www.ammyy.com/en/admin_screenshots.html

LogMeIn of course is very easy but I hate being tied to them.
TeamViewer
http://jumpdesktop.com/free-remote-desktop
Chrome Remote Desktop I need to try this but I don't think file transfer is possible.

Friday, May 31, 2013

Windows 7 Install Tips

Windows 7 Install the short version

If you don't have SP1 update, get it here. Install the original Windows if that is all you have and then apply the SP1 update yourself. It will save the hours of updating. Windows will have plenty of updating to do even after SP1.

System > Advanced System Settings
Turn off Animate
Maybe Turn off Aero Peek (not aero)
Turn off Fade
Turn off Save taskbar thumbnails

AMD Driver Auto Detect (I have had nVidea cards not detected by this but Windows eventually found a driver while Windows updating. Go figure.)
Intel Driver Update run in Internet Explorer

Do not use other third party driver updaters. Yes they tell you all your drivers are ancient and need updating. A bunch of scammers and yes they want money. You are better off finding your own drivers on the individual hardware manufacturer's sites.

Bulk edit start menu > left click Start Orb > right click All Programs go to Open All Users
If you have EaseUs and have deleted the start go to EaseUS\Todo Backup\bin\Loader.exe to start

Easeus > uninstall if you have your final image and you don't wish to have its services running.
I love DriveSnapshot but it is too difficult to restore.

Go to Ninite and get an installer for various programs.
Chrome, Essentials, 7 Zip, Launchy, Gimp, Irfanview, CutePDF, Everything, etc.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Refurbished Computer Links

Core 2 Duo is still great for business stuff.

It is best to enter the tag number into the Dell support site but here are a couple drivers that are hard to find. They may be different for some models.
Optiplex is missing these two drivers and Intel does not find them:
HECI
ftp.us.dell.com/.../Intel_AMT-HECI_A02_R255437.exe
SOL
ftp.us.dell.com/.../Intel_AMT-SOL--LMS_A02_R255438.exe

Just buy from dell if they have them. Sometimes others have them with more ram, no tax and free ship so then buy from that vendor.

Actually Dell has them for less but less ram, hd, etc.
http://www.dfsdirectsales.com/dell/ctl641/cp19257/cl2/optiplex

I just bought a Dell Optiplex 760 for $240 tax/ship. It has a core 2 duo 8400. Surprise, it had an 80 GB Velociraptor that reads close to 150 on HDTune. The full wide tower easily takes a second HD (bracket included and power cable ready. These are a great buy for business. Video card a Radeon 3450 and drivers were a snap with AMD Auto Detect. It came with Vista which really had to go.

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/dell-optiplex-745-intel-core-2-duo

Dell Optiplex line can be confusing when deciding but worth buying.

The sff/sdt line small form factor and small desk top look the same basically. Can not accept full height add-on cards. No cables or spot for second hard drive. Power supply is oddly shaped and not standard. PSU can be difficult to find and expensive. Buying a Core2Duo approaching 3GB performs great.


The usff (ultra small form factor) line is ultra small with external power supply which I found for $18. Otherwise same as sff/sdt. Performs well and very quiet. A cute little guy with punch.


The smt (small mini tower) is a tower. The models I received were huge and mini did not apply. Maybe they were full tower. All the same as above with the advantage of accepting full height add-on cards and standard cheap PSU. These are great for the office. easily throw in a second hard drive for backup. If you need two monitors just add a pci-e but make sure it is narrow because the pci-e slot is close to the heatsink plastic cover. That cover holds the heatsink down and you need it. You can buy Radeon 6450s for $15-20 after rebate. Make sure the video card does not need extra pci-e power or you will need to swap the power supply. It is also nice if low profile brackets are included in case you need to throw it in a small form factor case. I had only one of the video chips die but it can happen.

Rooting Sprint Android Phones

I need a place for links:

Latest Odin

For Galaxy S3 root consider using Chainfire.

I have rooted my S4 but it is not happy. Samsung update stops old methods.

Back to stock successfully.

Appears Chainfire has a root solution.

Chainfire includes Odin in the downloads.



Saturday, May 25, 2013

Wireless Access Points

The old WRT-54G WAP work well as access point but they are old school and still cost $74.

People seem to love these Ubiquiti Networks UniFi AP Enterprise WiFi System units. These "smoke alarm" looking units are enterprise grade and powerful. I need to try.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Two Networks On One Modem

If you need to isolate two networks from each other but still use the same single internet access you could hook one router to another and give the second router a different ip address eg. 192.168.2.1. But this causes a double NAT negotiation and possible problem. It is better to connect the modem to a switch along with the two routers attached to the same switch. Each router has its own IP and are otherwise set up normally.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

High Res IPS or PLS Monitors

Here is an ebay link for a PLS high res. monitor on ebay. The PLS monitors can be overclocked. $317 sounds like a good deal. Note the DVI-D Dual Link video card compatibility list.

Here is a recent form discussion on these monitors.

Here is a club thread on the same form.

Check for dead pixels here.

I want one of these.

Catleap driver if needed

Stamps.com or Not?

Edit: Stuck with Pitney-Bowes. Other solution seem problematic.

We use a Pitney-Bowes postage meter and love everything but the cost. We love the ease of quickly running envelopes through the labelling printer.

Stamps.com is another option but we can not face printing envelopes on a standard printer. Maybe a Dymo label machine is the answer.

Here is an interesting article of a Stamps.com refugee seeking asylum at http://www.dymoendicia.com/ which sells postage without monthly contract fee.

$129.00 DYMO Label Writer 450 Twin Turbo label printer
   15.96 DYMO LabelWriter Postage Label, DYMO Stamps, 1-5/8" x 1-1/4", 200 per pack

0.0798 cents per stamp label

Reading reviews, I see restrictions and difficulties with the free account. Why not just buy stamp stock from Walmart and print from USPS.com with a laser?

Get a postage scale from Walmart

Crack Windows Logon Password

Go to this link:
http://www.howtogeek.com/96630/how-to-reset-your-forgotten-windows-password-the-easy-way/

booting to repair and using command prompt
copy c:\windows\system32\sethc.exe c:\
copy c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe c:\windows\system32\sethc.exe
Once you get to the login screen, hit the Shift key 5 times
net user "user name" 'MyNewPassword" (without quotes)

or

kon-boot
cmd admin
netuser to find name
netuser *
hit enter twice

if not work

linux
system32
utilman.exe rename to old
copy cmd.exe to linux desktop
rename to utilman.exe
copy to system32
boot to windows
do the same as in kon-boot
change password or delete by hiting enter twice

back to linux and restore utilman.exe.old to original

video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYi-ZfZCVJg

Friday, May 3, 2013

My New Sprint Galaxy S4

Here is a root method. I'm waiting for more information.

Why did I leave my S3? My son needed a phone so he took my S3 and I grabbed an S4. If you have an S3 just keep it and don't bother with the S4. Even if you are buying new, the S3 is cheap or free on contract and the best phone I've ever had. S4 is great too but no great improvements that matter to me.

I ran FreeGS3 on the old S3 and the new profile will not update so I'm needing to get a stock ROM on it to update. I'm trying to find a stock rooted ROM. Maybe a reflash of FreeGS3 will do it.

One thing that get me on the new phone is the lag at times. I'm not accustomed to tapping and waiting for anything to happen. I guess once rooted it is hard to go back to the bloat.

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Find Your Android After The Horse Left The Barn

Plan B can be downloaded to the phone from the play store and it will email the phones location to you. Have not tried by next time someone in the family loses their phone let's hope I remember to look here for answers.

So now I have 3 possible solutions.
1. Where's My Droid
2. Life 360 GPS tracker
3. Plan B
4. Avast (trying now but see it as the solution)

All for free

Cerberus may be worth a look even though it costs moola. This has a free trial for one week, then you can buy a lifetime license for a small price (2.99€) from within the application: no monthly or yearly fees, just a one-time payment. You can manage five phone from one account. Cerberus is so feature rich and so cheap that I'm going to grab it. The only reason I would not is to avoid having more junk running on the phone.

So $3.99 and explain to me how the miserable Euro is worth more than the dollar. Maybe I will let politics stand in the way of my purchase? No - I'm bigger than that so let's extend our magnanimous hand of friendship (filled with an extra dollar) across the sea and do business.

Lookout is another option. I got sick of it scanning everything and full feature is monthly fees.

SeekDroid Lite appears similar to Cerberus.
SeekDroid for $4.99 lifetime

Avast has a mobile security app for free that is popular. Can we turn off the anitvirus? Installing as we speak. Open interface by call Avast PIN. When you confirm the email it looks like you need to invite friends. Simply access the site another way to avoid. You can turn off all the anti-virus scanning (which I did) but it is a pain in the butt. Only took a minute.
Yep, that's me.


AirDroid v2 is an interesting possibility but not for locating. It failed to locate. But to get things on or off your phone it is slick.

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Access Your Desktop From Android

Splashtop it worked out of the shoot but then gave up and so did I.

Access your windows desktop on your Android device and maybe even iPad. Yes your desktop needs to be running. I'm not clear if you get a number of days trial. I set it up on the home computer and everything worked fine. When I set it up on the office computer I couldn't get by the "buy me now" page. But maybe for $16 per year it is a good deal? It will take more investigating. On the home computer I could run everything.
Does one paid account allow several computers and several devices ... hard to tell.

Checking LogMeIn again. Yikes $39 annual for each device or each account ... I don't get it.

http://www.splashtop.com/splashtop2


Thursday, April 4, 2013

Windows 7 Wired Connection No Internet But Wireless Works


Solution: Run Rizonesoft Complete Internet Repair and set a fixed IP on the PC. Just doing the fixed IP should have worked but it would not. Four of the PCs are Windows 7 and three are XP. They worked fine for awhile but one day computer after computer needed to have a fixed IP set to get internet. The XP machine's internet speed increased dramatically with a fixed IP. Now they are all fixed and happy.

I'm leaving this for posterity:
I have 7 computers that hook to a second router in a two router network. The second router hooks to the first router which is connected to the cable modem and to several other machines. So the second router handles a network within a larger network and wireless radio is turned off.  One of the 7 Windows machines on the second router stopped accessing the internet through the wired connection. Adding a wifi connection to the problem PC connects it to the first router and internet works. The problem PC sees the other computers and accesses them fine but no internet. Virus does not appear to be the problem.

I am stumped so far. Below are some things to try.

The first router is 192.168.0.1, the second is 192.168.2.1, When set to auto select IP the problem computer picks up a 192.168.0.xxx IP. It seems like the second router is passing this computer straight through to the first router and that router is assigning the IP. Setting the problem PC to a fixed IP of 192.168.2.xxx does not produce internet.

Start - All Programs - Accessories and right click on Command Prompt, select "Run as Administrator" to open a command prompt.

Do First
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /registerdns
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
net stop "dns client"
net start "dns client"
Reboot

if not work

Do this

Reset WINSOCK entries to installation defaults: netsh winsock reset catalog
Reset IPv4 TCP/IP stack to installation defaults. netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log
Reset IPv6 TCP/IP stack to installation defaults. netsh int ipv6 reset reset.log
netsh interface ip delete arpcache
Reboot

Run these on working computer and compare to non-working
Minitoolbox
http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/farbar/MiniToolBox.exe

Hijackthis
http://www.trendmicro.com/ftp/products/hijackthis/HijackThis.exe


FarbarServiceScanner
http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/farbar/FSS.exe

Rizonesoft Complete Internet Repair
http://www.pendriveapps.com/goto/HERE/6635/1

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

SSD Software


Using an SSD? You will probably benefit from these two little programs.

Reminder for installing:
1. Update the firmware of the SSD because it will likely trash any data.
2. Set BIOS for AHCI before installing Windows. You can easily change this in registry later if you forget.

SSD Life grab the free portable version. It is so encouraging to see that you SSD is still at 100%. How accurate is this? Who knows but it makes me feel better.

Tweak-SSD install and do all the tweaks. Saves doing them manually. All the little switches should be green. If you have a small amount of ram you may not want to turn off the page file. You should get more ram and turn it off. (Yes, turning off page file only helps things to load faster and isn't that what we want?)

You can go through numerous blog posts and lists of tweaks and learn all about what helps and what does not, or you can just run Tweak-SSD and forget about it.

While I'm at it, let me say I am an SSD convert. Any system I use on a regular basis has and will have an SSD. They are that good and that fast. Expensive you say? Not when you consider they can extend the life of that older system by making it feel like a cutting edge new one. I've even used the "I wouldn't touch one" model and it performed well.

I still use them as a boot drive and redirect the user files to a standard hard drive but this may not be necessary. My SSD's will probably outlive me.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Google Reader Is Toast

What is up with this company? Microsoft does the same thing. They have programs or services that dominate and then dump them. What happened to Microsoft's Live Writer? Now Google dumps Reader.

Feedly to the rescue I guess. I will miss Reader but setting up Feedly was totally automatic. Feedly is slick looking but I like Reader better.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Easy2Boot A Second Try

2021-06-13 Ventoy is a big deal right now and simple but it can fail on some PCs. E2B has never failed for me yet. I use both.

I like USB Windows installing but getting both 32 and 64 bit versions of Win7 on one USB, not to mention adding XP, has been a no go for me. A single version has never been a problem.

I have Win7 64 and 32 working along with XP.
Make sure files are contiguous and no fragments with WinContig.
I don't change the menu but only the file name to match the menu.

Here is a good tutorial
Here is the Easy2Boot Blog

This site has Win7 with SP1 ISO downloads

To remove this message and the 5-second delay, create a text file of any size (even 0 bytes)
named \_ISO\nodelay in the \_ISO folder on the E2B USB drive so that it's full name is 
nodelay.txt.

Pin Not Available

Crazy Error I had not seen before. Pin not available blah blah. I restarted a few times and it finally worked. If it doesn't some say to...