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• Edit Text in a Webpage with Internet Explorer 8

  - by Matthew Guay

  Internet Explorer is often decried as the worst browser for web developers, but IE8 actually offers a very nice set of developer tools.  Here we’ll look at a unique way to use them to edit the text on any webpage. How to edit text in a webpage IE8’s developer tools make it easy to make changes to a webpage and view them directly.  Simply browse to the webpage of your choice, and press the F12 key on your keyboard.  Alternately, you can click the Tools button, and select Developer tools from the list. This opens the developer tools.  To do our editing, we want to select the mouse button on the toolbar “Select Element by Click” tool. Now, click on any spot of the webpage in IE8 that you want to edit.  Here, let’s edit the footer of Google.com.  Notice it places a blue box around any element you hover over to make it easy to choose exactly what you want to edit. In the developer tools window, the element you selected before is now highlighted.  Click the plus button beside that entry if the text you want to edit is not visible.   Now, click the text you wish to change, and enter what you wish in the box.  For fun, we changed the copyright to say “©2010 Microsoft”. Go back to IE to see the changes on the page! You can also change a link on a page this way: Or you can even change the text on a button: Here’s our edited Google.com: This may be fun for playing a trick on someone or simply for a funny screenshot, but it can be very useful, too.  You could test how changes in fontsize would change how a website looks, or see how a button would look with a different label.  It can also be useful when taking screenshots.  For instance, if I want to show a friend how to do something in Gmail but don’t want to reveal my email address, I could edit the text on the top right before I took the screenshot.  Here I changed my Gmail address to [email protected]. Please note that the changes will disappear when you reload the page.  You can save your changes from the developer tools window, though, and reopen the page from your computer if you wish. We have found this trick very helpful at times, and it can be very fun too!  Enjoy it, and let us know how you used it to help you! Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Edit Webpage Text Areas in Your Favorite Text EditorRemove Webpage Formatting or View the HTML Code When Copying in FirefoxChange the Default Editor From Nano on Ubuntu LinuxShare Text & Images the Easy Way with JustPaste.itEditPad Lite – All Purpose Tabbed Text Editor TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 PCmover Professional Enable Check Box Selection in Windows 7 OnlineOCR – Free OCR Service Betting on the Blind Side, a Vanity Fair article 30 Minimal Logo Designs that Say More with Less LEGO Digital Designer – Free Create a Personal Website Quickly using Flavors.me

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• Edit Text in a Webpage with Internet Explorer 8

  - by Matthew Guay

  Internet Explorer is often decried as the worst browser for web developers, but IE8 actually offers a very nice set of developer tools.  Here we’ll look at a unique way to use them to edit the text on any webpage. How to edit text in a webpage IE8’s developer tools make it easy to make changes to a webpage and view them directly.  Simply browse to the webpage of your choice, and press the F12 key on your keyboard.  Alternately, you can click the Tools button, and select Developer tools from the list. This opens the developer tools.  To do our editing, we want to select the mouse button on the toolbar “Select Element by Click” tool. Now, click on any spot of the webpage in IE8 that you want to edit.  Here, let’s edit the footer of Google.com.  Notice it places a blue box around any element you hover over to make it easy to choose exactly what you want to edit. In the developer tools window, the element you selected before is now highlighted.  Click the plus button beside that entry if the text you want to edit is not visible.   Now, click the text you wish to change, and enter what you wish in the box.  For fun, we changed the copyright to say “©2010 Microsoft”. Go back to IE to see the changes on the page! You can also change a link on a page this way: Or you can even change the text on a button: Here’s our edited Google.com: This may be fun for playing a trick on someone or simply for a funny screenshot, but it can be very useful, too.  You could test how changes in fontsize would change how a website looks, or see how a button would look with a different label.  It can also be useful when taking screenshots.  For instance, if I want to show a friend how to do something in Gmail but don’t want to reveal my email address, I could edit the text on the top right before I took the screenshot.  Here I changed my Gmail address to [email protected]. Please note that the changes will disappear when you reload the page.  You can save your changes from the developer tools window, though, and reopen the page from your computer if you wish. We have found this trick very helpful at times, and it can be very fun too!  Enjoy it, and let us know how you used it to help you! Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Edit Webpage Text Areas in Your Favorite Text EditorRemove Webpage Formatting or View the HTML Code When Copying in FirefoxChange the Default Editor From Nano on Ubuntu LinuxShare Text & Images the Easy Way with JustPaste.itEditPad Lite – All Purpose Tabbed Text Editor TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 PCmover Professional Enable Check Box Selection in Windows 7 OnlineOCR – Free OCR Service Betting on the Blind Side, a Vanity Fair article 30 Minimal Logo Designs that Say More with Less LEGO Digital Designer – Free Create a Personal Website Quickly using Flavors.me

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• Search Alternative Search Engines from within Bing’s Search Page

  - by Asian Angel

  So you love using Bing Search but may still be curious to see what another search engine will provide if used. Now you can search using another search engine from within the Bing Search page and enjoy numbered results using two simple user scripts. Note: These user scripts may also be added to other browsers as well (i.e. Iron, Opera, etc.). Before Bing Search does nicely on searches but what if you would like to try the same search with another search engine? Having to manually open a new tab, navigate to the appropriate website, and then start a new search is not too convenient. Another possible frustration for some people may be knowing just how many search results that they have looked through. Well, both of these small problems are easy to fix with two wonderful user scripts. Installing the Scripts The first script that we installed (you may do either one first) was for adding alternative search engine links. Click “Install” to get started… Note: For our example we had the Greasemonkey extension installed. When the confirmation window pops up click on “Install” to finish adding the user script to Firefox. Repeating the same procedure as above add your second script to Firefox. Confirm the second user script installation and you are ready to enjoy nicer Bing Search results. After As you can see there are two small unobtrusive differences in our search results. The alternative search engine links are conveniently located at the top of the page and now you can easily know just how many search results that you have looked through. The results when we decided to try the search in a transfer over to Yahoo. Our search transferred to Ask Search. The alternative search links can be very helpful if Bing is not providing the kind of search results that you are hoping for. Still going very nicely past the 100 mark… Conclusion If you have been wanting a small booster to searching with Bing then these two scripts will get you on your way. Using Opera Browser? See our how-to for adding user scripts to Opera here. Links Install the Bing (Alternate Search Engine Links) User Script Install the Bing Numbered Search Results User Script Download the Greasemonkey extension for Firefox (Mozilla Add-ons) Download the Stylish extension for Firefox (Mozilla Add-ons) Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Organize Your Firefox Search Engines Into FoldersFix for Slow "Instant Search" In Outlook 2007Gain Access to a Search Box in Google ChromeManage Web Searches In SafariModify Firefox’s Search Bar Behavior with SearchLoad Options TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 Heaven & Hell Finder Icon Using TrueCrypt to Secure Your Data Quickly Schedule Meetings With NeedtoMeet Share Flickr Photos On Facebook Automatically Are You Blocked On Gtalk? Find out Discover Latest Android Apps On AppBrain

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• Create a Customized Tab on the Office 2010 Ribbon

  - by Mysticgeek

  Some MS Office users were put off a bit by the Ribbon feature in 2007 for being cumbersome and confusing. Today we look at a cool new feature in Office 2010 that allows you to create your own custom tabs with specific commands for easier document creation. Create a Customized Tab In our example we’re using Word, but you can create a custom tab in the other Office apps as well. To do so, right-click on the Ribbon and select Customize the Ribbon. The Word Options screen opens up and from here you can manage a lot of customization options. We want to create a new customized tab, so click on the New Tab button.   Now give it a name… Now just drag the commands you want to add from the left column over to your new custom group. You have every command available to choose from. You can select specific groups or all commands from the dropdown menu on the left. That is all there is to it…now you have your own customized tab with the commands you use most often to help you work more efficiently. In this example We didn’t add a whole lot of commands, but you can customize it with as many as you need. You can also create other tabs with different sets of commands too. When you create a customized tab in one application, it’s only going to be in that app. For example if you create on in Word, it’s not going to show in Excel as commands differ between apps. If you want a custom tab in another Office app you’ll need to create one for it. Another very cool thing you can do is export the customizations to use on another machine or pass them to a coworker. To export the customizations, go to the Customize Ribbon section and at the bottom of the right field click Import/Export then Export all customizations. Then save the file to a location on your hard drive.   To import the settings to another machine, go into Ribbon Customizations and select Import customizations file… then browse the the file you exported. You’ll be prompted to confirm you want to import he customizations… After confirming the choice now you’ll see the customization show up on the other machine. This is very handy if you work on several machines throughout the day and want to easily bring your customized tabs with you. If you find yourself using a lot of specific commands throughout the day, creating your own customized tab will help access them more quickly. If you want to test out Office 2010 it’s currently in Public Beta and can be downloaded for free. Download Office 2010 Beta Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Maximize Space by "Auto-Hiding" the Ribbon in Office 2007Make Learning Office 2007 & 2010 Fun with Ribbon HeroAdd or Remove Apps from the Microsoft Office 2007 or 2010 SuiteHow To Bring Back the Old Menus in Office 2007How To Take Screenshots with Word 2010 TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 PCmover Professional Enable Check Box Selection in Windows 7 OnlineOCR – Free OCR Service Betting on the Blind Side, a Vanity Fair article 30 Minimal Logo Designs that Say More with Less LEGO Digital Designer – Free Create a Personal Website Quickly using Flavors.me

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• Create a Customized Tab on the Office 2010 Ribbon

  - by Mysticgeek

  Some MS Office users were put off a bit by the Ribbon feature in 2007 for being cumbersome and confusing. Today we look at a cool new feature in Office 2010 that allows you to create your own custom tabs with specific commands for easier document creation. Create a Customized Tab In our example we’re using Word, but you can create a custom tab in the other Office apps as well. To do so, right-click on the Ribbon and select Customize the Ribbon. The Word Options screen opens up and from here you can manage a lot of customization options. We want to create a new customized tab, so click on the New Tab button.   Now give it a name… Now just drag the commands you want to add from the left column over to your new custom group. You have every command available to choose from. You can select specific groups or all commands from the dropdown menu on the left. That is all there is to it…now you have your own customized tab with the commands you use most often to help you work more efficiently. In this example We didn’t add a whole lot of commands, but you can customize it with as many as you need. You can also create other tabs with different sets of commands too. When you create a customized tab in one application, it’s only going to be in that app. For example if you create on in Word, it’s not going to show in Excel as commands differ between apps. If you want a custom tab in another Office app you’ll need to create one for it. Another very cool thing you can do is export the customizations to use on another machine or pass them to a coworker. To export the customizations, go to the Customize Ribbon section and at the bottom of the right field click Import/Export then Export all customizations. Then save the file to a location on your hard drive.   To import the settings to another machine, go into Ribbon Customizations and select Import customizations file… then browse the the file you exported. You’ll be prompted to confirm you want to import he customizations… After confirming the choice now you’ll see the customization show up on the other machine. This is very handy if you work on several machines throughout the day and want to easily bring your customized tabs with you. If you find yourself using a lot of specific commands throughout the day, creating your own customized tab will help access them more quickly. If you want to test out Office 2010 it’s currently in Public Beta and can be downloaded for free. Download Office 2010 Beta Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Maximize Space by "Auto-Hiding" the Ribbon in Office 2007Make Learning Office 2007 & 2010 Fun with Ribbon HeroAdd or Remove Apps from the Microsoft Office 2007 or 2010 SuiteHow To Bring Back the Old Menus in Office 2007How To Take Screenshots with Word 2010 TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 PCmover Professional Enable Check Box Selection in Windows 7 OnlineOCR – Free OCR Service Betting on the Blind Side, a Vanity Fair article 30 Minimal Logo Designs that Say More with Less LEGO Digital Designer – Free Create a Personal Website Quickly using Flavors.me

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• Add Keyboard Input Language to Ubuntu

  - by Matthew Guay

  Want to type in multiple languages in Ubuntu?  Here we’ll show you how you can easily add and switch between multiple keyboard layouts in Ubuntu. Add a Keyboard Language To add a keyboard language, open the System menu, select Preferences, and then select Keyboard. In the Keyboard Preferences dialog, select the Layouts tab, and click Add.   You can select a country and then choose an language and keyboard variant.  Note that some countries, such as the United States, may show several languages.  Once you’ve made your selection, you can preview it on the sample keyboard displayed below the menu. Alternately, on the second tab, select a language and then choose a variant.  Click Add when you’ve made your selection. Now you’ll notice that there are two languages listed in the Keyboard Preferences, and they’re both ready to use immediately.  You can add more if you wish, or close the dialog. Switch Between Languages When you have multiple input languages installed, you’ll notice a new icon in your system tray on the top right.  It will show the abbreviation of the country and/or language name that is currently selected.  Click the icon to change the language. Right-click the dialog to view available languages (listed under Groups), open the Keyboard Preferences dialog again, or show the current layout. If you select Show Current Layout you’ll see a window with the keyboard preview we saw previously when setting the keyboard layout.  You can even print this layout preview out to help you remember a layout if you wish. Change Keyboard Shortcuts to Switch Languages By default, you can switch input languages in Ubuntu from the keyboard by pressing both Alt keys together.  Many users are already used to the default Alt+Switch combination to switch input languages in Windows, and we can add that in Ubuntu.  Open the keyboard preferences dialog, select the Layout tab, and click Options. Click the plus sign beside Key(s) to change layout, and select Alt+Shift.  Click Close, and you can now use this familiar shortcut to switch input languages. The layout options dialog offers many more neat keyboard shortcuts and options.  One especially neat option was the option to use a keyboard led to show when we’re using the alternate keyboard layout.  We selected the ScrollLock light since it’s hardly used today, and now it lights up when we’re using our other input language.   Conclusion Whether you regularly type in multiple languages or only need to enter an occasional character from an alternate keyboard layout, Ubuntu’s keyboard settings make it easy to make your keyboard work the way you want.  And since you can even preview and print a keyboard layout, you can even remember an alternate keyboard’s layout if it’s not printed on your keyboard. Windows users, you’re not left behind, either.  Check out our tutorial on how to Add keyboard languages to XP, Vista, and Windows 7. Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Add keyboard languages to XP, Vista, and Windows 7Assign a Hotkey to Open a Terminal Window in UbuntuWhat is ctfmon.exe And Why Is It Running?Keyboard Shortcuts for VMware WorkstationInput Director Controls Multiple Windows Machines with One Keyboard and Mouse TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips VMware Workstation 7 Acronis Online Backup DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro MELTUP – "The Beginning Of US Currency Crisis And Hyperinflation" Enable or Disable the Task Manager Using TaskMgrED Explorer++ is a Worthy Windows Explorer Alternative Error Goblin Explains Windows Error Codes Twelve must-have Google Chrome plugins Cool Looking Skins for Windows Media Player 12

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• How To Disable Control Panel in Windows 7

  - by Mysticgeek

  If you have a shared computer that your family and friends can access, you might not want them to mess around in the Control Panel, and luckily with a simple tweak you can disable it. Disable Control Panel with Group Policy Note: This process uses Local Group Policy Editor which is not available in Home versions of Windows 7. Skip down below for the registry hack version that works on Home editions as well. First type gpedit.msc into the Search box in the Start menu and hit Enter. When Local Group Policy Editor opens, navigate to User Configuration \ Administrative Templates then select Control Panel in the left Column. In the right column double-click on Prohibit access to the Control Panel. In the next window, select Enable, click OK, then close out of Local Group Policy Editor. After the Control Panel is disabled, you’ll notice it’s no longer listed in the Start Menu. If the user tries to type Control Panel into the Search box in the Start menu, they will get the following message indicating it’s restricted. Disable Control Panel with a Registry Tweak You can also tweak the Registry to disable Control Panel. This will work with all versions of Windows 7, Vista, and XP. Making changes in the Registry is not recommended for beginners and you should create a Restore Point, or backup the Registry before making any changes. Type regedit into the Search box in the Start menu and hit Enter. In Registry Editor navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer. Then right-click in the right pane and create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the value NoControlPanel. Then right-click on the new Value and click Modify…   In the Value data field change the value to “1” then click OK. Close out of Registry Editor and restart the machine to complete the process. When you get back from reboot, you’ll notice Control Panel is no longer listed in the Start menu. If a user tries to access it by typing Control Panel into the Search box in the Start menu… They will get the following message indicating it is restricted, just like if you were to disable it via Group Policy. If you want to re-enable the Control Panel, go back into the Registry and change the NoControlPanel value back to “0” then reboot the computer. This comes in handy if you have inexperienced users working on your machine and don’t want them messing with Control Panel settings. Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Disable User Account Control (UAC) the Easy Way on Win 7 or VistaStill Useful in Vista: Startup Control PanelRestore Missing Items in Windows Vista Control PanelHow To Manage Action Center in Windows 7New Vista Syntax for Opening Control Panel Items from the Command-line TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 Home Networks – How do they look like & the problems they cause Check Your IMAP Mail Offline In Thunderbird Follow Finder Finds You Twitter Users To Follow Combine MP3 Files Easily QuicklyCode Provides Cheatsheets & Other Programming Stuff Download Free MP3s from Amazon

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• Add the Recycle Bin to Start Menu in Windows 7

  - by Matthew Guay

  Have you ever tried to open the Recycle Bin by searching for “recycle bin” in the Start menu search, only to find nothing?  Here’s a quick trick that will let you find the Recycle Bin directly from your Windows Start menu search. The Start menu search may be the best timesaver ever added to Windows.  In fact, we use it so much that it seems painful to manually search for a program when using Windows XP or older versions of Windows.  You can easily find files, folders, programs and more through the Start menu search in both Vista and Windows 7. However, one thing you cannot find is the recycle bin; if you enter this in the start menu search it will not find it. Here’s how to add the Recycle Bin to your Start menu search. What to do To access the Recycle Bin from the Start menu search, we need to add a shortcut to the start menu.  Windows includes a personal Start menu folder, and an All Users start menu folder which all users on the computer can see.  This trick only works in the personal Start menu folder. Open up an Explorer window (Simply click the Computer link in the start menu), click the white part of the address bar, and, enter the following (substitute your username for your_user_name) and hit Enter. C:\Users\your_user_name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu Now, right-click in the folder, select New, and then click Shortcut. In the location box, enter the following: explorer.exe shell:RecycleBinFolder When you’ve done this, click Next. Now, enter a name for the shortcut.  You can enter Recycle Bin like the standard shortcut, or you could name it something else such as Trash…if that’s easier for you to remember.  Click Finish when your done. By default it will have a folder icon.  Let’s switch that to the standard Recycle Bin icon.  Right-click on the new shortcut and click Properties. Click Change Icon… Type the following in the “Look for icons in this file:” box, and press the Enter key on your keyboard: %SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll Now, scroll and find the Recycle Bin icon and click Ok. Click Ok in the previous dialog, and now your Recycle Bin shortcut has the correct icon.   You can even have multiple shortcuts with different names, so when you searched either Recycle Bin or Trash it would come up in the Start menu.  To do that, simply repeat these directions, and enter another name of your choice at the prompt.  Here we have both a Recycle Bin and a Trash icon. Now, when you enter Recycle Bin (or trash, depending on what you chose) in your Start menu search, you will see it at the top of your Start menu.  Simply press Enter or click on the icon to open the Recycle Bin.   This trick will work in Windows Vista too!  Simply follow these same directions, and you can add the Recycle Bin to your Vista Start menu and find it via search. This is a simple trick, but may make it  much easier for you to open your Recycle Bin directly from your Windows Vista or 7 Start menu search.  If you’re using Windows 7, you can also check out our directions on how to Add the Recycle Bin to the Taskbar in Windows 7. Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Hide, Delete, or Destroy the Recycle Bin Icon in Windows 7 or VistaDisable Deletion of the Recycle Bin in Windows VistaHide the Recycle Bin Icon Text on Windows VistaAdd the Recycle Bin to the Taskbar in Windows 7Resize the Recycle Bin in XP TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 PCmover Professional StockFox puts a Lightweight Stock Ticker in your Statusbar Explore Google Public Data Visually The Ultimate Excel Cheatsheet Convert the Quick Launch Bar into a Super Application Launcher Automate Tasks in Linux with Crontab Discover New Bundled Feeds in Google Reader

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• Boot From a USB Drive Even if your BIOS Won’t Let You

  - by Trevor Bekolay

  You’ve always got a trusty bootable USB flash drive with you to solve computer problems, but what if a PC’s BIOS won’t let you boot from USB? We’ll show you how to make a CD or floppy disk that will let you boot from your USB drive. This boot menu, like many created before USB drives became cheap and commonplace, does not include an option to boot from a USB drive. A piece of freeware called PLoP Boot Manager solves this problem, offering an image that can burned to a CD or put on a floppy disk, and enables you to boot to a variety of devices, including USB drives. Put PLoP on a CD PLoP comes as a zip file, which includes a variety of files. To put PLoP on a CD, you will need either plpbt.iso or plpbtnoemul.iso from that zip file. Either disc image should work on most computers, though if in doubt plpbtnoemul.iso should work “everywhere,” according to the readme included with PLoP Boot Manager. Burn plpbtnoemul.iso or plpbt.iso to a CD and then skip to the “booting PLoP Boot Manager” section. Put PLoP on a Floppy Disk If your computer is old enough to still have a floppy drive, then you will need to put the contents of the plpbt.img image file found in PLoP’s zip file on a floppy disk. To do this, we’ll use a freeware utility called RawWrite for Windows. We aren’t fortunate enough to have a floppy drive installed, but if you do it should be listed in the Floppy drive drop-down box. Select your floppy drive, then click on the “…” button and browse to plpbt.img. Press the Write button to write PLoP boot manager to your floppy disk. Booting PLoP Boot Manager To boot PLoP, you will need to have your CD or floppy drive boot with higher precedence than your hard drive. In many cases, especially with floppy disks, this is done by default. If the CD or floppy drive is not set to boot first, then you will need to access your BIOS’s boot menu, or the setup menu. The exact steps to do this vary depending on your BIOS – to get a detailed description of the process, search for your motherboard’s manual (or your laptop’s manual if you’re working with a laptop). In general, however, as the computer boots up, some important keyboard strokes are noted somewhere prominent on the screen. In our case, they are at the bottom of the screen. Press Escape to bring up the Boot Menu. Previously, we burned a CD with PLoP Boot Manager on it, so we will select the CD-ROM Drive option and hit Enter. If your BIOS does not have a Boot Menu, then you will need to access the Setup menu and change the boot order to give the floppy disk or CD-ROM Drive higher precedence than the hard drive. Usually this setting is found in the “Boot” or “Advanced” section of the Setup menu. If done correctly, PLoP Boot Manager will load up, giving a number of boot options. Highlight USB and press Enter. PLoP begins loading from the USB drive. Despite our BIOS not having the option, we’re now booting using the USB drive, which in our case holds an Ubuntu Live CD! This is a pretty geeky way to get your PC to boot from a USB…provided your computer still has a floppy drive. Of course if your BIOS won’t boot from a USB it probably has one…or you really need to update it. Download PLoP Boot Manager Download RawWrite for Windows Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Create a Bootable Ubuntu 9.10 USB Flash DriveReinstall Ubuntu Grub Bootloader After Windows Wipes it OutCreate a Bootable Ubuntu USB Flash Drive the Easy WayBuilding a New Computer – Part 3: Setting it UpInstall Windows XP on Your Pre-Installed Windows Vista Computer TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 Office 2010 reviewed in depth by Ed Bott FoxClocks adds World Times in your Statusbar (Firefox) Have Fun Editing Photo Editing with Citrify Outlook Connector Upgrade Error Gadfly is a cool Twitter/Silverlight app Enable DreamScene in Windows 7

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• Convert YouTube Videos to MP3 with YouTube Downloader

  - by DigitalGeekery

  Are you looking for a way to take the music videos you watch on YouTube and convert them to MP3? Today we take a look at an easy way to convert those YouTube videos to MP3 for free with YouTube Downloader. The YouTube Downloader functions in two steps. First, it downloads the video from YouTube in MP4 format, and then allows you to convert that MP4 file to MP3. Note: It also supports conversion conversion to some other formats such as AVI video, MOV, iPhone, PSP, 3GP, and WMV.   Installation and usage Download and Install YouTube Downloader. (See download link below) Open the YouTube Downloader by clicking on the desktop icon. Find a YouTube video you’d like to convert to MP3 and copy the URL. Paste the URL into the “Enter video URL” text box in YouTube Downloader. When you hover your mouse over the text box, the text box will auto-fill with the URL from your clipboard. Select the “Download video from YouTube” radio button and click “Ok.” Choose a folder to location to download your YouTube video and click “Save.” The video is downloaded in MP4 format. Now wait while the video is downloaded to your hard drive.   Select the “Convert video (previously downloaded) from file” radio button. Click the (…) button to the right of the “Select video file” text box to browse for and select the MP4 file you just downloaded. Then select “MPEG Audio Layer (MP3) from the “Convert to” drop down list. Select “OK” to begin the conversion. Choose the conversion quality by moving the slider to the right or left. The options are: Low (96kbps bite rate), Medium (128kbps bit rate), Optimal (192kbps bit rate), and High 256kbps bit rate). Here you can select the output volume as well. Click “OK” when finished. If there is a portion of the beginning or end of the video that you wish to cut out of the MP3, select the “Cut video” check box and choose a Start and End time. Click “OK” when finished. Note: The start and end time represent the audio portion of the MP3 you wish to keep. All portions before and after these times will be cut.   The conversion process will begin and should only take a few moments. Times will vary depending on the size of the video you’re converting. Conversion was successful! The MP3 you converted will be in the same directory you downloaded the video to. Now you’re ready to listen to your MP3 or import it to your Zune, iTunes, or music library. You may also want to delete the MP4 files after the conversion if you will no longer need them. Conclusion YouTube Downloader features a very simple interface that’s user friendly and easy to use. It comes in handy when you watch videos that look horrible, but the sound quality is good. Or if you just need to hear the audio of something posted and don’t need the video. It also allows you to download from Google Video, MySpace, and others. Download YouTube Downloader Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Download YouTube Videos with Cheetah YouTube DownloaderWatch YouTube Videos in Cinema Style in FirefoxStop YouTube Videos from Automatically Playing in FirefoxRemove Unsuitable Comments from YouTubeImprove YouTube Video Viewing in Google Chrome TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 PCmover Professional Windows Media Player 12: Tweak Video & Sound with Playback Enhancements Own a cell phone, or does a cell phone own you? Make your Joomla & Drupal Sites Mobile with OSMOBI Integrate Twitter and Delicious and Make Life Easier Design Your Web Pages Using the Golden Ratio Worldwide Growth of the Internet

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• The Beginner’s Guide to Greasemonkey User Scripts in Firefox

  - by Asian Angel

  Everybody knows that Firefox has add-ons for virtually everything, but if you don’t want to bloat your installation you’ve always got the option of Greasemonkey scripts instead. Here’s a quick primer on how to use them. Getting Started with User Scripts Once you have Greasemonkey installed, managing the extension is really easy. Left click on the status bar icon to turn the extension on/off and right click to access the context menu shown here. Whether you use the Options button in the Add-ons Manager Window or the context menu shown above, both will bring up the Manage User Scripts dialog. At the moment you have a nice clean slate to work with… time to get some scripts added in. The majority of user scripts can be found at two different sites, the first being appropriately named userscripts.org, and you can either browse by tag or search for a script. As you can see here your search for a particular type of script can be quickly narrowed down based on category. There is definitely a lot to choose from. For our example we focused on the “textarea” tag. There were 62 scripts available but we quickly found what we were looking for on the first page. Installing, Managing, & Using Your Scripts When you find a script that you want to install visit the script’s homepage and click on the “Install” button. Note: Link for this script provided below. Once you have clicked on the Install button, Greasemonkey will open up the following installation window. You will be able to view: A summary of what the script does A list of websites that the script is supposed to function on (our example is set for all) View the script source if desired Make a final decision on whether to install the script or cancel the process Right-clicking on our status bar icon shows our new script listed and active. Reopening the Manage User Scripts window shows: Our new script listed in the column on the left The websites/pages included An option to disable the script (can also be done in the context menu) The ability to edit the script The ability to uninstall the script If you choose to edit the script you will be asked to browse for and select a default text editor of your choice (first time only). Once you have selected a text editor you can make any changes desired to the script. We decided to test our new user script on the site. Going to the comment box at the bottom we could easily resize the window as desired. The Comment box definitely got a lot bigger. Conclusion If you prefer to keep the number of extensions to a minimum in your Firefox installation then Greasemonkey and the Userscripts website can easily provide that extra functionality without the bloat. For added auto website script detection goodness see our article on Greasefire. Note: See our article here for specialized How-To Geek User Style Scripts that can be added to Greasemonkey. Links Download the Greasemonkey Extension (Mozilla Add-ons) Install the Textarea & Input Resize User Script Visit the Userscripts.org Website Visit the Userstyles.org Website Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Enjoy How-To Geek User Style Script GoodnessEnable Multi-Column Google Searches with a User ScriptSearch Alternative Search Engines from within Bing’s Search PageFind User Scripts for Your Favorite Websites the Easy WaySet Up User Scripts in Opera Browser TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 Office 2010 reviewed in depth by Ed Bott FoxClocks adds World Times in your Statusbar (Firefox) Have Fun Editing Photo Editing with Citrify Outlook Connector Upgrade Error Gadfly is a cool Twitter/Silverlight app Enable DreamScene in Windows 7

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• Update Metadata and Cover Art in Windows Media Player 12

  - by DigitalGeekery

  If you use Windows Media Player 12 in Windows 7, you may notice some of your media is missing information when displayed in the library. Today we look at how to edit and update metadata and cover art in WMP 12. By default, Windows Media Player will pull metadata, such as the title, artist, album, and cover art from the Internet. If you did not accept that default option during setup, we’ll need to turn the feature on first. Select Tools > Options from the top Menu bar. On the Library tab, ensure that Retrieve additional information form the Internet is checked. Click OK. Editing Metadata Now we’re ready to update some files. Find a media file with incorrect details or cover art. Right-click on the title and select Find album info. This will bring up the Find album information window. Here you’ll see the existing information that Windows Media Player interpreted as correct on the left side. The results of  WMP’s search for the media information are on the right. Click on Artists,  Albums , or Tracks to scroll through the search results and try to find a match. You can also type in new keywords in the Search box and hit enter (or click the Search button) to perform a new search.   If you find a correct match for your media file, click to select it and click Next. You’ll be prompted to confirm your selection, then click Finish. You should now see your media file displayed properly in Windows Media Player. Manually Entering Metadata If your search for the correct media information comes up empty, you can always manually enter the information yourself. On the Find album information window, click Edit under Existing Information. You can edit the existing information in the text boxes or the Genre dropdown box. There are a couple hidden text boxes below. Click next to Contributing Artist or Composer to enter that information.   Choosing Your Own Cover Art If your media file doesn’t pull the proper cover art, or if you simply wish to find a different image, you can add your own. Search online for a suitable image. An ideal size would be around 300 x 300 pixels, give or take. Right-click on the image copy the image. You’ll need to switch to Expanded title (if you haven’t already) to paste the image.   Paste your new image by right-clicking on the current image and select Paste album art. Note: If the image is not suitable size or type, the Paste album art option will not be available. Your new cover art will appear in Windows Media Player.   Even though it is pulled from the Internet, cover art is cached on your computer and will still be available when you are disconnected from the Internet. Are you new to Windows Media Player? If so, check out our article on how to Manage your music with Windows Media Player. Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Make VLC Player Look like Windows Media Player 11Fixing When Windows Media Player Library Won’t Let You Add FilesMake VLC Player Look like Windows Media Player 10Add Images and Metadata to Windows 7 Media Center Movie LibraryMake VLC Player Look like Winamp 5 (Kinda) TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 Awe inspiring, inter-galactic theme (Win 7) Case Study – How to Optimize Popular Wordpress Sites Restore Hidden Updates in Windows 7 & Vista Iceland an Insurance Job? Find Downloads and Add-ins for Outlook Recycle !

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• Add Windows 7’s AeroSnap Feature to Vista and XP

  - by Asian Angel

  Are you using Windows Vista or XP and want that Windows 7 AeroSnap goodness on your own system? Then join us as we look at AeroSnap for Windows Vista and XP. Note: Requires .NET Framework 2.0 or higher (link provided at bottom of article). Setup What exactly does AeroSnap do you might ask…here is a quote directly from the website: “AeroSnap is a simple but powerful application that allows you to resize, arrange or maximize your desktop windows with just drag’n'drop. Simply drag a window to a side of your desktop to snap it or drag it to the top to maximize. When you drag it back to the last position, the last window size will be restored.” As soon as you have finished installing AeroSnap and started it for the first time the only item that will be visible is the “System Tray Icon”. Before going any further you should take a moment to view and make any desired adjustments in the “Options”. Note: AeroSnap works with multiple monitors. You may want to have AeroSnap start with Windows each time but the really nice setting to enable here is the “Snap Preview”. If you are using AeroSnap on Vista and have Aero enabled this will really be nice. The second portion may be of interest for those who would like to enable the keyboard shortcut function. One point worth noting about this screen is that the highest number of pixels from the screen’s edge that you can set AeroSnap for is 20 pixels. AeroSnap in Action AeroSnap is extremely easy to use…just grab the top of an app window and drag it to the left, right, or top of your screen. Since we installed this on Windows Vista we made certain to enable the “Snap Preview” in the “Options”.  We started off with dragging our Firefox 3.7 window towards the left…once we got close to the edge of the screen you can see that the left half of the screen temporarily “shaded over”. Note: The “Snap Preview” displays on the left and right movements but not the top movement. Releasing Firefox snapped it right into the “shaded over” part of the screen. The great thing about AeroSnap is that it is really easy to return the app window to it former size…all that you have to do is simply click on and grab the top portion of the app window. Moving Firefox towards the top of our screen and… It quickly snaps into filling the screen. One thing that we did notice is that the window did not “Maximize” as per the function for the button in the upper right corner. Dragging towards the right side now… And snap! Tucked in all nice and neat… You can minimize the app windows to the Taskbar and they will return to their previous “snap area” when “maximized” again. Conclusion If you have been wanting to add Windows 7’s AeroSnap goodness to your Vista and XP systems then you should definitely give this app a try. AeroSnap is very easy to set up and operate… Links Download AeroSnap for Windows Vista & XP Download the .NET Framework Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Using Windows 7 or Vista System RestoreRoundup: 16 Tweaks to Windows Vista Look & FeelSelect Files using Check Boxes in Windows VistaSpeed up Your Windows Vista Computer with ReadyBoostHow-To Geek Bounty: $103.24(Paid!) for Active Desktop for Vista TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 Add a Custom Title in IE using Spybot or Spyware Blaster When You Need to Hail a Taxi in NYC Live Map of Marine Traffic NoSquint Remembers Site Specific Zoom Levels (Firefox) New Firefox release 3.6.3 fixes 1 Critical bug Dark Side of the Moon (8-bit)

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• Apply Skins to Add Some Flair to Windows Media Player 12

  - by DigitalGeekery

  Tired of the same look and feel of Windows Media Player in Windows 7? We’ll show you how to inject new life into your media experience by applying skins in WMP 12. Adding Skins In Library view, click on View from the Menu and select Skin Chooser. By default, WMP 12 comes with only a couple of modest skins. When you select a skin from the left pane, a preview will be displayed to the right. To apply one of the skins, simply select it from the pane on the left and click Apply Skin.   You can also switch to the currently selected skin in the Skin chooser by selecting Skin from the View menu, or by pressing Crtl + 2. Media Player will open in Now Playing mode. Click on the Switch to Library button at the top left to return to Library view.     Ok, so the included skins are a little boring. You can find additional skins by selecting Tools > Download > Skins.   Or, by clicking on More Skins from within the Skin chooser.   You will be taken the the Microsoft website where you can choose from dozens of skins to download and install. Select a skin you’d like to try and click the link to download.   If prompted with a warning message about files containing scripts that access your library, click Yes. Note: These warning boxes may look a bit different depending on your browser. We are using Chrome for this example.   Click on View Now.   Your new skin will be on display. To get back to the Library mode, find and click the Return to Full Mode button.    Some skins may launch video in a separate window.   If you want to delete one of the skins, select it from the list within the Skin chooser and click the red “X.” You can also press the delete key on your keyboard.   Then click Yes to confirm.   Conclusion Using skins is a quick and easy way to add some style to Windows Media Player and switching back and forth between skins is a breeze. Regardless of your interests, you are sure to find a skin that fits your tastes. You may find WMP skins on other sites, but sticking with Microsoft’s website will ensure maximum compatibility. Skins for Windows Media Player Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Make VLC Player Look like Windows Media Player 10Make VLC Player Look like Windows Media Player 11Make VLC Player Look like Winamp 5 (Kinda)Fixing When Windows Media Player Library Won’t Let You Add FilesInstall and Use the VLC Media Player on Ubuntu Linux TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips VMware Workstation 7 Acronis Online Backup DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Use Flixtime To Create Video Slideshows Creating a Password Reset Disk in Windows Bypass Waiting Time On Customer Service Calls With Lucyphone MELTUP – "The Beginning Of US Currency Crisis And Hyperinflation" Enable or Disable the Task Manager Using TaskMgrED Explorer++ is a Worthy Windows Explorer Alternative

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• Add Microsoft Core Fonts to Ubuntu

  - by Matthew Guay

  Have you ever needed the standard Microsoft fonts such as Times New Roman on your Ubuntu computer?  Here’s how you can easily add the core Microsoft fonts to Ubuntu. Times New Roman, Arial, and other core Microsoft fonts are still some of the most commonly used fonts in documents and websites.  Times New Roman especially is often required for college essays, legal docs, and other critical documents that you may need to write or edit.  Ubuntu includes the Liberation alternate fonts that include similar alternates to Times New Roman, Arial, and Courier New, but these may not be accepted by professors and others when a certain font is required.  But, don’t worry; it only takes a couple clicks to add these fonts to Ubuntu for free. Installing the Core Microsoft Fonts Microsoft has released their core fonts, including Times New Roman and Arial, for free, and you can easily download these from the Software Center.  Open your Applications menu, and select Ubuntu Software Center.   In the search box enter the following: ttf-mscorefonts Click Install on the “Installer for Microsoft TrueType core fonts” directly in the search results. Enter your password when requested, and click Authenticate. The fonts will then automatically download and install in a couple minutes depending on your internet connection speed. Once the install is finished, you can launch OpenOffice Writer to try out the new fonts.  Here’s a preview of all the fonts included in this pack.  And, yes, this does included the infamous Comic Sans and Webdings fonts as well as the all-important Times New Roman. Please Note:  By default in Ubuntu, OpenOffice uses Liberation Serif as the default font, but after installing this font pack, the default font will switch to Times New Roman. Adding Other Fonts In addition to the Microsoft Core Fonts, the Ubuntu Software Center has hundreds of free fonts available.  Click the Fonts link on the front page to explore these, and install the same as above. If you’ve downloaded another font individually, you can also install it easily in Ubuntu.  Just double-click it, and then click Install in the preview window. Conclusion Although you may prefer the fonts that are included with Ubuntu, there are many reasons why having the Microsoft core fonts can be helpful.  Thankfully it’s easy in Ubuntu to install them, so you’ll never have to worry about not having them when you need to edit an important document. Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Enable Smooth fonts on Ubuntu LinuxEmbed True Type Fonts in Word and PowerPoint 2007 DocumentsNew Vista Syntax for Opening Control Panel Items from the Command-lineStupid Geek Tricks: Enable More Fonts for the Windows Command PromptAdding extra Repositories on Ubuntu TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 Awe inspiring, inter-galactic theme (Win 7) Case Study – How to Optimize Popular Wordpress Sites Restore Hidden Updates in Windows 7 & Vista Iceland an Insurance Job? Find Downloads and Add-ins for Outlook Recycle !

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• Stream Media from Windows 7 to XP with VLC Media Player

  - by DigitalGeekery

  So you’ve got yourself a new computer with Windows 7 and you’re itching to take advantage of it’s ability to stream media across your home network. But, the rest of the family is still on Windows XP and you’re not quite ready to shell out the cash for the upgrades. Well, today we’ll show you how to easily stream media from Windows 7 to Windows XP with VLC Media Player. On the host computer running Windows 7, you’ll need to have an account set up with both a username and password. A blank password will not work. The media files will need to be located in a shared folder. Note: If the media files are located within the Public directory, or within the profile of the user account you use to log into the Windows 7 computer, they will be shared automatically. Sharing your Media Folders On your Windows 7 computer, right-click on the folder containing the files you’d like to stream and choose Properties.     On the Sharing Tab of the folder properties, click the Share button. Click OK.   Type or select from the drop down the user account you’ll use to log in, or select “Everyone” to share with all users. Then click Add. You may change the permission level, but only Read permission is required to play the media. Repeat this process for any additional folders you wish to share.    The Windows XP Client Computer Now that we’ve shared our media folders from the Windows 7 computer, we’re ready to play our files on the Windows XP computer. Download and install the VLC Media Player. (See link below) Then open VLC. Click on Media from the and select Open File… Browse your network for the shared folder that contains your media.   You’ll be prompted to log in to the host computer. Provide the credentials for a user on the Windows 7 computer. Click OK.   Select your media file and click Open.    Your media playback will begin momentarily.   This is a nice and easy way to stream media across your home network without upgrading multiple computers to Windows 7.  Plus, VLC is certainly no slouch as a Media Player. It’ll play virtually any video or audio file you can throw at it. Have you already upgraded all your home PCs to Windows 7? Check out our previous article on streaming media between Windows 7 computers on your home network. Download VLC Media Player Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Fixing When Windows Media Player Library Won’t Let You Add FilesShare Digital Media With Other Computers on a Home Network with Windows 7Enable Media Streaming in Windows Home Server to Windows Media PlayerInstall and Use the VLC Media Player on Ubuntu LinuxInstalling Windows Media Player Plugin for Firefox TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 Need Help with Your Home Network? Awesome Lyrics Finder for Winamp & Windows Media Player Download Videos from Hulu Pixels invade Manhattan Convert PDF files to ePub to read on your iPad Hide Your Confidential Files Inside Images

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• Make Your PC Look Like Windows Phone 7

  - by Matthew Guay

  Windows Phone 7 offers a unique and exciting UI that displays lots of information efficiently on the screen.  And with a simple Rainmeter theme, you can have the same UI and content directly on your Windows 7 desktop. Turn your Desktop into a Windows Phone 7 lookalike To give your Windows 7 desktop a Windows Phone 7 makeover, first you need to have the free Rainmeter application installed.  If you do not have it installed, download it from the link below and run the setup.  Accept the license agreement, and install it with the default settings. By default Rainmeter will automatically run when you start your computer.  If you do not want this, you can uncheck the box during the setup. Now, download the Omnimo UI theme for Rainmeter (link below).  You will need to unzip the folder first. This theme uses the Segoe UI and the Segoe UI Light font, so Windows Vista users need to install the segoeuil.ttf font first, and XP users need to install both the segoeui.ttf and the segoeuil.ttf font first.  Copy the appropriate fonts to C:\Windows\Fonts, or in Vista double-click on the font and select Install. Now, run the Rainmeter theme setup.  Double-click on the Rainstaller.exe in the Omnimo folder. Click Express install to add the theme and skin to Rainmeter. Click Finish, and by default Rainmeter will open with your new theme. When the new theme opens the first time, you will be asked to read the readme, or simply go to the gallery. When you open the gallery, you can choose from a wide variety of tiles and gadgets to place on your desktop.  You can also choose a different color scheme for your tiles. Once you’re done, click the X in the top right hand corner to close the Gallery.  Welcome to your Windows Phone 7 desktop!  Many of the gadgets are dynamic, and you can change the settings for most of them.  The only thing missing is the transition animations that Windows Phone 7 shows when you launch an application. To make it look even more like Windows Phone 7, you can change your background to black.  This makes the desktop theme really dramatic. And, if you want to add gadgets or change the color scheme, simply click on the + logo on the top. Windows Phone 7 Desktop Wallpapers If you’d prefer to simply change your background, My Microsoft Life has several very nice Windows Phone 7 wallpapers available for free.  Click the link below to download these and other Microsoft-centric wallpapers. If you can’t wait to get the new Windows phone 7, this is a great way to start experiencing the beauty of the phone UI on your desktop. Links Download Rainmeter Download the Omnimo UI Rainmeter theme Download Windows Phone 7 inspired wallpapers Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Try out Windows Phone 7 on your PC todayTest All Features of Windows Phone 7 On Your PCHow-To Geek on Lifehacker: How to Make Windows Vista Less AnnoyingCreate a Shortcut or Hotkey to Mute the System Volume in WindowsMake Ubuntu Automatically Save Changes to Your Session TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 Norwegian Life If Web Browsers Were Modes of Transportation Google Translate (for animals) Roadkill’s Scan Port scans for open ports Out of 100 Tweeters Out of band Security Update for Internet Explorer

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• How To Rip an Audio CD to FLAC with Foobar2000

  - by Mysticgeek

  Foobar2000 is a great audio player that is fully customizable, is light on system resources, and contains a lot of tools and features. Today we show you how to use it to rip an audio CD to FLAC format. Note: For this tutorial we’re going to assume this is the first time you’re ripping a disc with Foobar2000. We’re running it on Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit. Install Foobar2000 and FLAC First download and install Foobar2000 (link below). The main thing you’ll want to make sure to enable during the install process is Audio CD Support… And the freedb Tagger which are located under Optional Features, then continue through the rest of the install wizard. Next you need to install the latest version of the FLAC codec (link below) following the defaults. Rip Audio CD To rip a CD, place it in your CDROM drive, launch Foobar2000 and click File \ Open Audio CD. Select the appropriate CD drive and click the Rip button. Next you’ll want to lookup the disc information with freedb…or you can manually enter in the track data if it’s a custom disc. Select the proper tag information in the freedb tagger window, then click Update files. The data will be entered in, make sure the radio button next to Go to the Converter Setup dialog is selected, and click the Rip button. In the Converter Setup screen, here you can select the output format, where in our case we’re selecting FLAC. In this window you can choose several other options like the output path, merging the tracks into one or individual files…etc. When you have those settings completed click OK. Next you’ll need to find flac.exe which is located wherever you installed it. On our 64-bit Windows 7 system the default path is C:\Program Files (x86)\FLAC Now wait while your CD is ripped and converted to FLAC. You’ll get a Converter Status Report…after you’ve checked it over you can close out of it. If you set the option to show the output files after conversion you can take a look, make sure all tracks were converted, and play them right away if you want. You can play the tracks in Foobar2000 or any player that supports FLAC. If you want to use WMC or WMP see our article on how to play FLAC files in Windows 7 Media Center or Player. That’s all there is to it! If you’re a fan of Foobar2000 and enjoy your music converted to FLAC format, Foobar2000 does the job quite well. There are a lot of customizations and tools you can use in Foobar2000 that we’ll be taking a look at in future articles. For more information check out our look at this fully customizable music player. Foobar2000 run on XP, Vista, and Windows 7 Links Download Foobar2000 Download FLAC Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Using Ubuntu: What Package Did This File Come From?Easily Change Audio File Formats with XRECODEFoobar2000 is a Fully Customizable Music PlayerConvert Virtually Any Audio Format with XRECODE IIExtract Audio from a Video File with Pazera Free Audio Extractor TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 Download Free MP3s from Amazon Awe inspiring, inter-galactic theme (Win 7) Case Study – How to Optimize Popular Wordpress Sites Restore Hidden Updates in Windows 7 & Vista Iceland an Insurance Job? Find Downloads and Add-ins for Outlook

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• [MISC GEEKERY] Support for Some Versions of Windows is Ending

  - by Matthew Guay

  Are you sticking with your older version of Windows instead of upgrading to Windows 7?  There’s no problem with that, but here’s a quick reminder to make sure you’re running the latest service pack to stay protected. Microsoft offers security updates and more throughout the lifetime of a version of Windows, and periodically they roll all the latest updates and improvements together into a service pack.  After a while, only computers running the latest service pack will still get updates to keep them safe. Recently, Microsoft has been warning that support is ending for Windows XP with Service Pack 2 and the release version of Windows Vista.  When support ends, you will not receive any new security updates for Windows.  You can continue to use your computer the same as before, but it may not be as secure and if new security issues are discovered they will not be updated. However, it’s easy to stay supported: simply install XP Service Pack 3 or Vista Service Pack 2, depending on your computer.  Here’s how to do that: Windows XP To install Windows XP Service Pack 3, you can either check Windows Update for updates, or simply download it from Microsoft at this link: Download XP Service Pack 3 Run the download (or if you’re updating from Windows Update the installer will automatically launch), and proceed just as you normally would when installing a program.  Your computer will have to reboot during the install, so make sure you’ve saved all your work and closed other programs before installing.   To check what service pack your computer is running, click Start, then right-click on the My Computer button and choose Properties. This will show you what version and service pack of Windows you are running, and in this screenshot we see this computer has be updated to Service Pack 3. Please Note:  The version of XP shipped with Windows XP Mode in Windows 7 comes preconfigured with Service Pack 3, and does not need updated.  Additionally, if your computer is running the 64 bit version of Windows XP, then Service Pack 2 is the latest service pack for your computer, and it is still supported. Windows Vista If your computer is running Windows Vista, you can install Service Pack 2 to stay up to date and supported.  Simply check Windows Update for Service Pack 2 if you haven’t installed it yet, or download the installer for your computer from the link below: 32 bit: Vista Service Pack 2 32-bit 64 bit: Vista Service Pack 2 64-bit Run the installer, and simply set it up as a normal program installation.  Do note that your computer will reboot during the installation, so make sure to save your work and close other programs before installing. To see what service pack your computer is running, click the Start orb, then right-click on the Computer button and select Properties. This will show what service pack and edition of Windows Vista your computer is running right at the top of the page. Conclusion Microsoft makes it easy to keep using your computer safely and securely even if you choose to keep using your older version of Windows.  By installing the latest service pack, you will make sure that your computer will be supported for years to come.  Windows 7 users, you don’t need to worry; no service has been released for it yet.  Stay tuned, and we’ll let you know when any new service packs are available. www.microsoft.com/EOS – End of Support Information from Microsoft Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Remove Optional and Probably Unnecessary Windows Vista ComponentsRequesting Hotfixes from Microsoft the Easy WayUnderstanding Windows Vista Aero Glass RequirementsAdd Network Support to Windows Live MovieMakerCustomize the Manufacturer Support Info in Windows 7 or Vista TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 PCmover Professional OutSync will Sync Photos of your Friends on Facebook and Outlook Windows 7 Easter Theme YoWindoW, a real time weather screensaver Optimize your computer the Microsoft way Stormpulse provides slick, real time weather data Geek Parents – Did you try Parental Controls in Windows 7?

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• View Weather Underground Forecasts in Google Chrome

  - by Asian Angel

  If you like a simple straightforward interface for keeping up with weather forecasts then join us as we look at the Weather Underground extension for Google Chrome. Weather Underground in Action As soon as you click on the “Toolbar Icon” you will need to enter a location. Keep in mind that you will need to enter the “city and country” if using that option. Going with less information will yield an “error”. Note: The extension did not work for some Asian locations during our tests. In honor of the Olympics we chose Vancouver, Canada. You can hover over the “Toolbar Button” to see the current conditions or click to view the current day’s conditions, the current day’s forecast, and the forecast for the following three days. It is a simple straightforward interface. Note: There are no options to worry with. Clicking on the “Detailed Forecast Link” in the drop-down window will take you to the Weather Underground webpage for your location. Clicking on the “Weather Underground Link” in the drop-down window will take you to the Weather Underground U.S. Homepage. Additional Weather Underground Fun Since we were focusing on Weather Underground we have an extra bit of fun for you. If you love being able to view a “large scale” map of your location with current conditions and forecast combined then you might want to have a look at Weather Underground’s “wxmap webpage”. Using the link below you can access the basic starting page where you will be asked to enter your location. Once you have entered the information you will see the default “Terrain View” for your location and a “Current Conditions & Forecast Window” in the lower left corner. You can modify how your map looks by choosing from “Temperature, Precipitation, Clouds, Satellite, Hybrid, & Terrain” views. Going full screen in your browser with this gives your monitor a wonderful and unique look that will have your family & friends asking you how you did it. Note: Terrain View shown here. Clicking on the “Settings Link” in the upper left corner will let you tweak your map view very nicely. Conclusion If you love using Weather Underground for your weather forecasts then you can add a “double dose” of goodness to your browser. Links Download the Weather Underground extension (Google Chrome Extensions) Access the Full Screen Weather Underground Map & Forecast for your area Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Add Weather Forecasts to Google ChromeMonitor the Weather for Your Location in ChromeView the Time & Date in Chrome When Hiding Your TaskbarView Maps and Get Directions in Google ChromeGoogle Image Search Quick Fix TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 PCmover Professional Windows 7 Easter Theme YoWindoW, a real time weather screensaver Optimize your computer the Microsoft way Stormpulse provides slick, real time weather data Geek Parents – Did you try Parental Controls in Windows 7? Change DNS servers on the fly with DNS Jumper

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• Add a Hovering Image Toolbar to Firefox

  - by Asian Angel

  When you work with webpage images in Firefox you normally have to use the Context Menu to do anything with them. The Image Toolbar extension provides an extra toolbar to use when you hover your mouse over webpage images. Note: This extension will not function if you have the NoScript extension installed/enabled unless JavaScript has permission to be active on that page. Before You can see the available “Context Menu” options for working with images here. Not bad but it would be nice if some other convenient options were available as well. Image Toolbar in Action Once you have installed the extension you will be able to view the toolbar whenever you hover your mouse over an image. All of the commands are active by default but you can choose what is available in the options. The toolbar will also appear in the upper left region of the image but can be set to appear relative to the cursor. Note: The default minimum image size for the toolbar to appear over is “260 x 260 pixels” so you will probably want to change it to a much smaller size (see options below). Here is what is available in the Image Toolbar: Save – Choose between being prompted when saving or automatically saving to a specified location Copy – Copies image and image URL so that you can paste the image or URL depending on the app pasted into Print – Provides print preview and printing capabilities Info – Opens a window with “properties information” about the image Folder – Opens browser’s download folder in Windows Explorer The “Save, Copy, Print, & Folder Commands” are all pretty clear in what you can expect from them but what about the “Info Command”? This is what you will see if you use the “Info Command” and expand the window out all the way. Very nice… Options There are quite a few options available for what appears to be such a small toolbar. The first “Tab Area” lets you set up the “Save Scheme” that best suits your personal needs. You can choose which commands are available in the toolbar, decide if you would like text labels visible, and enable small icons if desired. As mentioned above the default image size for the toolbar to appear is “260 x 260 pixels”…we set ours for “10 x 10 pixels”. If you would like the toolbar to appear relative to your mouse cursor as opposed to the upper left corner of the image then you can select for that here. Conclusion If you have been wanting more options for working with webpage images in Firefox then this will make a very useful and convenient addition to your browser. Links Download the Image Toolbar extension (Mozilla Add-ons) Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Conserve Space in Firefox by Combining ToolbarsShow Alexa Ranking in FirefoxLightweight Extension to Show PageRank in FirefoxSwitch Windows by Hovering the Mouse Over a Window in Windows 7 or VistaQuick Tip: Show PageRank in Firefox while Google Toolbar is Hidden TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 Roadkill’s Scan Port scans for open ports Out of 100 Tweeters Out of band Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 Cool Looking Screensavers for Windows SyncToy syncs Files and Folders across Computers on a Network (or partitions on the same drive) If it were only this easy

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• Change a File Type’s Icon in Windows 7

  - by Trevor Bekolay

  In Windows XP, you could change the icon associated with a file type in Windows Explorer. In Windows 7, you have to do some registry hacking to change a file type’s icon. We’ll show you a much easier and faster method for Windows 7. File Types Manager File Types Manager is a great little utility from NirSoft that includes the functionality of Windows XP’s folder options and adds a whole lot more. It works great in Windows 7, and its interface makes it easy to change a bunch of related file types at once. A common problem we run into are icons that look too similar. You have to look for a few seconds to see the difference between the movies and the text files. Let’s change the icon for the movie files to make visually scanning through directories much easier. Open up File Types Manager. Find the “Default Icon” column and click on it to sort the list by the Default Icon. (We’ve hidden a bunch of columns we don’t need, so you may find it to be farther to the right.) This groups together all file extensions that already have the same icon. This is convenient because we want to change the icon of all video files, which at the moment all have the same default icon. Click the “Find” button on the toolbar, of press Ctrl+F. Type in a file type that you want to change. Note that all of the extensions with the same default icon are grouped together. Right click on the first extension whose icon you want to change and click on Edit Selected File Type, or select the first extension and press F2. Click the “…” button next to the Default Icon text field. Click on the Browse… button. File Types Manager allows you to select .exe, .dll, or .ico files. In our case, we have a .ico file that we took from the wonderful public domain Tango icon library. Select the appropriate icon (if you’re using a .exe or .dll there could be many possible icons) then click OK. Repeat this process for each extension whose icon you would like to change. Now it’s much easier to see at a glance which files are movies and which are text files! Of course, this process will work for any file type, so customize your files’ icons as you see fit. Download File Types Manager from NirSoft for Windows Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Change the Default Editor for Batch Files in VistaCustomizing Your Icons in Windows XPChange Your Windows 7 Library Icons the Easy WayRestore Missing Desktop Icons in Windows 7 or VistaCustomize Your Folder Icons in Windows XP TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 PCmover Professional Scan your PC for nasties with Panda ActiveScan CleanMem – Memory Cleaner AceStock – The Personal Stock Monitor Add Multiple Tabs to Office Programs The Wearing of the Green – St. Patrick’s Day Theme (Firefox) Perform a Background Check on Yourself

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• Crop, Edit, and Print Photos in Windows 7 Media Center

  - by DigitalGeekery

  Windows Media Center is a nice application for managing and displaying your personal photos, but you may occasionally need to make some basic edits to your pictures. Today we’ll take a look at how to crop, edit, and print photos right from Windows 7 Media Center. From within the Picture Library in Windows Media Center, choose a photo to work with, right-click and select Picture Details. You can also access this option with a Media Center remote by clicking the “i” button. Note: You’ll notice you have the option to rotate the picture from this menu. It is also available on the next screen.  Rotate a picture Now you’ll see more options on the Picture Details screen. From here you can rotate, Print, or Touch Up, Delete, or Burn a CD/DVD. To rotate the picture, simple select Rotate. Note: If you want your photo saved with the new orientation, you’ll need to select Save from the Touch Up screen that we will look at later in the article.   Each click will rotate the picture 90 degrees clockwise. You’ll see the new orientation of the picture displayed on the Picture Details screen after you have clicked Rotate. Print a picture From the Picture Details screen, select Print. Click Print again. Media Center automatically prints to your default printer, so make sure your desired target printer is set as default. Crop and Edit Photos To edit or crop your photo, select Touch Up. Touch Up options includes, Crop, Contrast, and Red Eye removal. First, we’ll select the Crop button to crop our photo.   You will see a cropping area overlay appear on your photo. Select one of the buttons below to adjust the location, size, and orientation of the area to be cropped. When you’re happy with your selection, click Save. You’ll be prompted to confirm your save. Click Yes to permanently save your edits. You can also apply Contrast or Red Eye adjustments to your photos. There aren’t any advanced settings for these options. You merely toggle the Contrast or Red Eye on or off by selecting the option. Be sure to click Save before exiting to if you’ve made any changes you wish to permanently apply to the photos. This includes rotating the images. While this method is not likely to be replace your favorite image editing software, it does give you the ability to make basic edits and print photos directly from Windows Media Center. With a Media Center remote, you can even do all your edits from the comfort of your recliner. Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Using Netflix Watchnow in Windows Vista Media Center (Gmedia)Schedule Updates for Windows Media CenterIntegrate Hulu Desktop and Windows Media Center in Windows 7Add Color Coding to Windows 7 Media Center Program GuideIntegrate Boxee with Media Center in Windows 7 TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 Outlook Connector Upgrade Error Gadfly is a cool Twitter/Silverlight app Enable DreamScene in Windows 7 Microsoft’s “How Do I ?” Videos Home Networks – How do they look like & the problems they cause Check Your IMAP Mail Offline In Thunderbird

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• Keep a Window on top with a handy AutoHotkey script

  - by Matthew Guay

  Are you tired of shuffling back and forth between windows to get your work done?  Here’s a handy tool that lets you keep any window always on top when you need it. There are many ways to use multiple windows efficiently, but sometimes it seems you need to keep a smaller one in front of a larger window and they never quite fit right.  Whether you’re trying to use Calculator and a web form at the same time, or see what music is playing while you’re catching up on your news, there’s many scenarios where it can be useful to keep one window always on top.  There are many utilities to do this, but they are often needlessly complicated and bloated.  Here we look at a better solution from Amit, our friend at Digital Inspiration. Always on Top Thanks to AutoHotkey, you can easily always keep any window on top of all the others on your screen.  You can download this as a small exe and run it directly, or can create it with a simple script in AutoHotkey.  For simplicity, we simply downloaded the application and ran it directly. To do this, download Always on Top (link below), and unzip the file. Once you’ve launched it, simply select the window you want to keep on top and press Ctrl+Space.  This program will now stay in front, even when it is not the active window.  Here’s a screenshot of a Hotmail signup dialog in Chrome with Notepad kept on top.  Notice Notepad isn’t the active application, but it is still on top. If you wish to un-pin the window from being on top, simply select the window and press Ctrl+space again.  You can keep multiple windows pinned at once, too, though you may clutter your desktop quickly! Always on Top will keep running in your system tray, and you can exit or suspend it by right-clicking on its tray icon and selecting exit or suspend, respectively. Create Your Own Always on Top Utility with AutoHotkey If you’re a fan of AutoHotkey, you can create your own AutoHotkey script to keep windows on top simply and easily with only one line of code: ^SPACE:: Winset, Alwaysontop, , A Simply create a new file, insert the code, and save it as plaintext with the .ahk file extension.  If you have AutoHotkey installed, simply double-click this file for the exact same functionality as the premade version. Conclusion This is a great way to keep a window handy, and it can be beneficial in many scenarios.  For instance you can use it to copy data from a PDF or image into a form or spreadsheet, and it saves a lot of clicks and time.  Links: Download Always on Top from Digital Inspiration Download AutoHotkey if you want to make it yourself Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Get the Linux Alt+Window Drag Functionality in WindowsGet Mac’s Hide Others (cmd+opt+H) Keyboard Shortcut for WindowsAdd "Run as Administrator" for AutoHotkey Scripts in Windows 7 or VistaKeyboard Ninja: Pop Up the Vista Calendar with a Single HotkeyKeyboard Ninja: Assign a Hotkey to any Window TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 PCmover Professional OutSync will Sync Photos of your Friends on Facebook and Outlook Windows 7 Easter Theme YoWindoW, a real time weather screensaver Optimize your computer the Microsoft way Stormpulse provides slick, real time weather data Geek Parents – Did you try Parental Controls in Windows 7?

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• Easily Add Facebook Chat to Pidgin

  - by Matthew Guay

  Want to keep in touch with your Facebook friends throughout the day?  Here we’ll show you how to easily add Facebook chat to the popular multi-protocol chat client Pidgin. Facebook has recently added support for XMPP chat, which means you can easily add it to popular chat clients such as Pidgin.  Previously you could only add Facebook chat to Pidgin through a plug-in that didn’t always work correctly.  Here we’ll walk you through setting up your Facebook account in Pidgin. Getting Started First, make sure you have a username for your Facebook account (link below).  This is a relatively new feature for Facebook, so if you’ve had your account for a while you may need to choose one.    If you already have one, you should see it listed instead. Now, open Pidgin, and click Manage Accounts. Click Add… Then select XMPP from the Protocol list. Now, enter your Facebook username without the facebook.com part (e.g your.facebook.username, not http://www.facebook.com/your.user.name).  Then, enter chat.facebook.com for the Domain, and enter your standard Facebook password.  You can check the “Remember password” box if you’d like Pidgin to automatically sign in to Facebook chat. Now, click on the Advanced tab, and uncheck the “Require SSL/TLS” box.  Also, make sure the Connect port is 5222.  Click Add, and your Facebook account is added to Pidgin. Now Facebook will show up in your list of accounts, with the username [email protected]. Your Facebook friends will show up directly in your Buddy list, complete with their full name and Facebook profile picture.  Any users that are not in a group will show under your standard list, while ones in a Facebook group will be shown in a separate group.  You can move which groups your Facebook friends show up in, just like you can with other chat contacts.   And no matter if your friend is logged in on the standard Facebook website or through another chat application, it will work the same as always.   This is a great way to keep in touch with your Facebook friends throughout the day.  If you like Facebook chat and already use Pidgin, now you can keep from switching between programs and just chat with all your friends from a central location. Links: Download Pidgin Set your Facebook username Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips The How-To Geek is No Longer on FacebookWin a Free iPod Touch in the How-To Geek Facebook Giveaway!Block Those Irritating Facebook Quiz & Application MessagesPut Your Pidgin Buddy List into the Windows Vista SidebarHow to Lock Down Your Facebook Account TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 PCmover Professional Make your Joomla & Drupal Sites Mobile with OSMOBI Integrate Twitter and Delicious and Make Life Easier Design Your Web Pages Using the Golden Ratio Worldwide Growth of the Internet How to Find Your Mac Address Use My TextTools to Edit and Organize Text

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