Is Your Hard Drive, CPU, RAM, and PSU Safe?

Is Your Hard Drive, CPU, RAM, and PSU Safe?: "Testing and checking your components early on is a great way to avoid disaster later. In this feature, we show you how to check and test the hard drive, CPU, RAM, and PSU."

Story of My Life

A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost . He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but don't know where I am."

The woman below replied, "You're in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You're between 40 and 41degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude."

"You must be an engineer," said the balloonist.

"I am," replied the woman, "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I've no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help at all. If anything, you've delayed my trip."

The woman below responded, "You must be in Management."

"I am," replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?"

"Well," said the woman, "you don't know where you are or where you're going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise which you've no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault."

Registry Edits for Windows XP

Registry Edits for Windows XP: "This site contains 383 registry tweaks/vbs scripts for windows XP. Includes removing/deleting sticky keys, setting RDP port number, tons of modifications to start menu behavior, and about 380 more."

How To Solder

How To Solder: "Nice tutorial for DIY-ers or noobs on the proper techniques of soldering."

Making GNOME look like OSX

Making GNOME look like OSX: "f you've always admired the Apple OS X desktop theme and layout but aren't ready to drop a load of cash on an Apple machine (or if you want to stick with free software), this article will show you how to make GNOME look and feel more like OS X, with some limitations."

Getting rid of common annoyances in Windows Xp

Getting rid of common annoyances in Windows Xp: "hate little popups in windows xp, this shows you how to get rid of them"

Additionally, the author provides how-to's for the following:

• Get rid of the Tour prompt
• Get rid of the MSN Passport creation prompt
• Restore my Desktop icons!
• Copy the I386 source folder to your HD and change the source path
• Delete Temporary Internet Files (and make the temporary storage space smaller)
• Configure IE to download more than 2 concurrent files
• Configure a larger number for the grouping of Taskbar buttons
• Get rid of the Hibernation support
• Customize Windows Explorer views and buttons
• Add the Quick Launch toolbar
• Add a shortcut to Control Panel and the Administrative Tools to the Quick Launch toolbar
• Add a shortcut to Command Prompt to the Desktop and to the Quick Launch toolbar
• Add a Command Prompt option to the default Explorer right click context menu
• Install the Microsoft Powertoys suite
• Add Local Area Connection icons to your system tray
• Disable the Memory Dump file creation
• Disable the Error Reporting option
• Enable the Auto Update option
• Disable the Fast User Switching mode and the Welcome Screen (Workgroup only)
• Disable the administrative shares
• Set the location of the My Documents folder
• Configure local user options
• Configure local user options - extended
• Configure the Pagefile (virtual memory) location
• Configure Remote Desktop access
• Create a Send To Notepad and Send To MAPI shortcuts
• Enable EFS Encryption by right-click
• Restore the W2K-style search window
• Install the ISO Burner PowerToy
• Install the new Windows Server 2003 RDP 5.2 client

Download of the Day: TTCS OSSWIN CD

Download of the Day: TTCS OSSWIN CD: "Windows only: The TTCS OSSWIN CD is a huge collection of valuable open source software for your home and office.

The CD is available to download as an ISO via BitTorrent. However, even cooler, they've put together a web-based interface, allowing you to browse the offerings and download programs from the source without downloading the entire CD.

Granted, you could always do this, but you can't always browse such a nicely organized list of excellent open source software. Many of the programs on the TTCS OSSWIN CD have been mentioned here before, and what hasn't certainly has some potential.

Google Working on Desktop Linux

Google Working on Desktop Linux: "paulmac84 writes 'The Register reports that Google is working on a version of Ubuntu, known internally as Goobuntu. Google has confirmed it is working on a desktop linux project, but declined to supply further details, including what the project is for. Is Google about to release this as an alternative to Windows?'"

I found Ubuntu to have the best Linux distro for balance of user-friendly/feature-rich is a solid Linux, and I am excited to see Google commit resources to Linux.

Google's web apps bleed simplicity; hopefully Google will take over user-interface design for some of the existing OSS projects that run on Linux, making them easier for the average user to use.

How about great Google standalone applications such as Picasa and Google Earth being ported to Linux? For you Windows/Mac junkies, GoogleOS might finally/eventually make Linux a serious desktop OS competitor; this could drive the cost of your favorite OS down substantially.

Look for GoogleOS to take over more development of OpenOffice and improve it's ability to work with MS Office file formats. I don't see GoogleOS ever targeting businesses, but if they do, Google will have to find a way to compete with MS Sharepoint to really have a competitive office software platform. They would also have to make a Linux email client like Evolution as capable as Outlook, and make it talk to MS Exchange servers. By the way, OpenOffice and Evolution are available for Windows now and is free; you don't have to pay for or pirate MS Office anymore.

Cafe101 in Warren, NJ - Website Launch!

Recently, a future family member purchased the Jack Cooper's Celebrity Deli in Warren, NJ and has since overhauled the place to launch a B.Y.O.B. cafe, Cafe101.

Cafe101's food is outstanding, the prices are low, the staff is friendly, the atmosphere is intimate, and there's no cork fee!

I highly recommend the Cafe101 wings, or any one of their panini sandwiches. How can you not like a grilled sandwich?

This is a great place to take a friend or a date and a bottle of wine (or three). Also, if you happen to work in or near Warren, be sure to ask about catering. Most people who give Cafe101's food a try end up going back again and again.

The menu and directions are available at the Cafe101 website, thecafe101.com.

The Info:

Cafe101
101 Town Center Drive
Suite 101
Warren, NJ 07059
908-757-3354
info@thecafe101.com
http://www.thecafe101.com

Nero Alternatives

Windows XP has built-in CD burning capabilities, but lacks the extra features of Nero that many have come to rely upon. I am always on the lookout for free alternatives to the greats such as Nero, and a story at digg.com provided the following choices:

DeepBurner (Free Edition)
CDBurnerXP Pro