My Writings. My Thoughts.
Epic Continuation: My Favorite Software
// December 3rd, 2011 // No Comments » // Computers, Windows
I am very frequently asked my opinion on what software to use to get something done. These requests run the gamut from, “What’s the best accounting software for my brother-in-laws business?” to “What can I use to download videos from YouTube?”. Any question that never has a wrong answer, and multiple right answers is a good question to me. I change my answers (opinions) as the world, and I, evolve. This epic will change with my opinions. The descriptions and opinions are intentionally non-technical. After all, most of the time the folks asking me for technical advice are not technical people.
Let the alphabetically-sorted-by-category opinions begin…
// Anti-virus
Avast or Microsoft Security Essentials
Free for non-commercial home use (Both), also free for small business use (Microsoft Security Essentials)
It doesn’t slow down your computer or use a lot of memory. It does a very comprehensive job of protecting your computer from viruses. Basically, the exact opposite of the Norton and McAfee products that you’ve been convinced are worth the money.
// Clean-up (New Windows computer)
Free for non-commercial home use
The first time you turn on a new Windows computer that you purchased from Dell, HP, Toshiba, etc., you are presented with a wheelbarrow full of shit bags. That may be an exaggeration, but the need to rid the machine of trial software, toolbars, and offers for free shit with strings attached should not be underestimated. Use this to dump the wheelbarrow.
// Clean-up (Used Windows computer)
CCleaner
Free
Strangely, computers don’t clean up after themselves automatically, even though it’s something you would think they would be good at. Ergo, performance-zapping disk clutter is unavoidable. Think gigabytes (GB) if you haven’t ever run a clean-up utility and have used the computer for a year or more. Use this wonderful free tool to remove the clutter and restore performance…and disk space.
Free
Keeping fragmentation in-check is an important step in running a tuned PC. What is fragmentation? It’s entropy incarnate within your computer that comes from reading & writing files on the hard drive. Run this every month or two to keep things organized. It can take some time to run depending on how cluttered the hard drive is, so running this overnight can be a good plan.
// Photography
Free
This is a one-stop-shop for most digital photography needs. If you need more than this…you probably don’t need me telling you what software to use.
// Web Browser
Free
Fast and clean makes it the best on the scene.
// VideoFree
The easiest video conversion utility that I've ever used.
Free
It downloads YouTube video files and converts them so that they playback easily on your computer.
To be continued...
Windows WebDAV <=50MB. Overcome it.
// November 15th, 2010 // No Comments » // Computers, Server, Windows
Windows limits single files transferred from a WebDAV share to 50MB per file. Weak. Read on and get strong…
You may have encountered an error message that says, “Error 0x800700DF: The file size exceeds the limit allowed and cannot be saved.” Make this change on your client computer, reboot, and you’re good for 4GB per file.
Modify or create the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WebClient\Parameters
- Right-click on the FileSizeLimitInBytes and click Modify
- Click on Decimal
- In the Value data: box, type 4294967295, and then click OK.
- Exit the registry editor and reboot your computer
Tempting…
// November 14th, 2010 // No Comments » // Cars
Geek trivia fact: This is the Northstar VVT (LH2 series) engine used in late-model Cadillac RWD/AWD vehicles.
2010::Patriot Day
// September 11th, 2010 // No Comments » // Holiday
Always remembered, never forgotten.
Students: Microsoft will give you the farm for free. Really.
// September 3rd, 2010 // No Comments » // Computers, Server, Windows
This isn’t exactly news, but is still fairly recent, and under-marketed enough to deserve a mention. The folks in Redmond call it DreamSpark, and it’s a pretty sweet deal for high school and college students. They’ll let you use many of their high dollar enterprise products (e.g. Windows Server 2008 R2, SQL 2008, etc.) for free.
Check out Microsoft DreamSpark…
How-to: Enable Windows Installer in Safe Mode
// July 26th, 2010 // No Comments » // Computers, Windows
The Windows Installer Service is the subsystem that Windows provides for adding or removing software. Many software applications rely upon the Windows Installer Service, and they cannot be removed cleanly (or easily) if it’s not working. Most of the time it works fine, but there are always exceptions.
There are many situations that can occur where you may find yourself stuck in “Safe Mode” trying to remove a program (e.g. a program crashes your computer while it’s trying to boot). This is complicated by the fact that the Windows Installer Service will not run in “Safe Mode”.
Thankfully, there is a kind gentleman named Harry Bates that wrote a freeware tool called SafeMSI. It will enable the Windows Installer Service while Windows is running in “Safe Mode”. The usage of this tool is simple:
- Download the tool
- Extract the contents of the file you downloaded in Step 1 to a memorable place (e.g. your Desktop)
- Run the tool while in Safe Mode
2010::Memorial Day
// May 31st, 2010 // No Comments » // Holiday
I give thanks to those that have, and will, sacrifice for our freedom.
iTunes for Windows: Make the arrow go to your Library and not the iTunes Store
// May 30th, 2010 // 3 Comments » // Computers, Windows
iTunes. It’s the undeniable standard for music playback and management on computers. It’s not a one-trick pony though, as its capabilities enable an entire eco-system of products to obtain content. If a (wagon) wheel in the sky keeps on turning, then iTunes is the hub to which all of the spokes connect.
Impressive.
For being such an important software package, it’s surprisingly light on user customizable features. For example, way back when iTunes 4.5 was released (>5 years ago), a small arrow showed up next the songs in your Library. It looks like this:
Those arrows have, and very well always will, take you to that content in the iTunes Store. Personally, I don’t find that useful. I already have that song in my Library, and would rather see similar content I already have. For example, if you were to click on the arrow for the artist Rush, you would be taken to all of the Rush music in your Library.
The arrow doesn’t behave in a manner that provides the best user experience, but it does behave in a manner that ensures the most user exposure to the iTunes Store. It’s not a show-stopper, but it’s a nuisance.
Thankfully, there is a very unintuitive way to make the arrows capable of working for you. Simply Ctrl-Left click the arrow and it takes you to similar content in your Library. It makes getting around your music Library much easier.
I don’t know of a method to make this the default behavior with iTunes for Windows. If I ever discover one, I’ll be sure to share it here. It would also be great if this could become a preference, but I won’t hold my breath.
Happy Ctrl-Left clicking your way to a more enjoyable iTunes experience!
Addendum on November 14, 2010: iTunes 10.x versions do away with the arrow and replace it with a Ping button. Ctrl-Left Clicking this button offers you the option to jump to various points in your library. Nice improvement on this already useful feature!
The Top 15 Google Products for People Who Build Websites
// April 17th, 2010 // No Comments » // Computers
Read the excellent article here…
- ubworks said: finally... big help for me... thanks....
- Brendon said: This seems to work easier. Found it on another blo...
- her said: great!! it work for me. just delete intelppm.sys. ...
- jdog said: Same problem, migrating from Intel Core 2 Duo to A...
- Trinity said: Sweet. Thank you....
- budhzie said: thanks so muach, can't find intelide.sys to remove...
