The Webmaster will provide links to files or sites of potential interest to SPAUG members, which are suggested by other members. Just connect to the web and click on the hyperlinks. If that does not work, copy the links into your browser URL address field and press enter.
If any of you members have suggestions, they would be more than welcome - . Share your favorite sites with other SPAUG members.
Interested in investigating scripts? It's more than most computer users want to investigate, but there is a wealth of ready-made scripts. The Microsoft Script Repository categorizes sample scripts designed to run on Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003. The scripts linked to from this page were all written using VBScript. The Script Center Script Repository. You can find out lots more about scripting from an article by Mitch Tulloch at O'Reilly Windows DevCenter.com
Submitted by Stan Hutchings
Desktop Ruler is very handy when reading large spreadsheets and tables, especially if they are to be compared with printed versions. Also it is useful for programmers in user interface design phase, as well as for Web designers, graphic artists and anyone that needs to measure or align something on the screen.
Submitted by Stan Hutchings
A recurring question at our meetings is, what's that service (listed in the Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Services), what does it do, and is it a "good guy" or malware? A free download at TechRepublic lists Windows XP services that can be disabled and those that should not be disabled, and those that are optional, depending on what you're doint. You do need to be a TechRepublic member, but registration is free, and the site has lots more useful information. Get on their mailing list to be informed of new downloads like this.
p.s. - Hank Skawinski recommended TechRepublic to us several years ago.
Submitted by Stan Hutchings
Take Hank Skawinski's and Jim Dinkey's advice – always have ERUNT - Emergency Recovery Utility NT on your computer to assure that when the registry gets corrupted, you have a backup of the registry. If you don't have a backup, you'll have to reload the whole computer. With ERUNT, however, recovering is just a few minutes away. There are many ways your Registry gets corrupted - use your RESET button at the wrong time, turn off the computer when it is non-responsive, use software that isn't debugged, etc. Set ERUNT to take a snapshot of the registry at startup.
Submitted by Hank Skawinski and Jim Dinkey
Before you reformat a memory card that returns an error, why not try fixing it?
- BadCopy Pro - Disk and CD corrupted or lost data recovery software. BadCopy Pro is a data recovery utility for floppy disk, CD-ROM, CD-R/CD-RW/DVD, Digital Media, ZIP/MO/USB Disk and other storage. It can recover and rescue corrupted or lost data from damaged or defective disks.
a couple of other data recovery programs that some photographers have used to successfully recover files are:
- PC Inspector
- Data Rescue
- SanDisk recommends www.lc-tech.com/rescuepro.htm, a $40 solution.
- Art Plus Digital Photo Recovery
Submitted by Stan Hutchings
The site www.broadbandreports.com is where to go when you need to tune an Internet connection. There are a number of free tests and tools available on the menu on the left side of the page. The tests will show what variables need tweaking, and what they might be tweaked to; and the free Dr. TCP tool makes it easy to change many of the most important networking variables. It's a little geeky to use, so be sure to read the full instructions.
Submitted by Stan Hutchings
The better disk imaging tools perform a scandisk-type of disk check, before running, to help prevent problems when you try to restore the image. Most disk imaging tools can also be set to verify the image after it's made; this can identify problems immediately. There are also several ways to test your backup's image to verify that the image is still good. You can find more info here: How To Verify If Backups Are OK and Silent Failures Of Backups And Images.
If you run Windows' own Scandisk or Chkdsk as a normal part of your routine hard drive maintenance, and let them do a full "surface scan" occasionally, you can avoid most disk problems in the first place, and catch the unavoidable ones before they do harm. Coupled with a good imaging tool, like BootIt's imager, you should be fine.
Information like this is a staple of Fred Langa's Langalist - it you need or like this kind of information, click here and subscribe to his newsletter
Submitted by Stan Hutchings
You can strip out all the excess software baggage that comes with new PCs. See Laptop Setup Secrets and do a clean install of WinXP that does not include the "shovelware". Do go to the manufacturer's web site occasionally to look for updates, and install them manually if they seem relevant.
Submitted by Stan Hutchings
This might be good to Bookmark - Micro Center In-Store Clinic Update - Free Clinics at Your Local Micro Center store... Come participate in the no-charge, in-store clinics hosted by our own tech support staff. Each clinic covers a new topic from the latest technology to troublshooting your gadgets. You'll have a chance to get your computer questions answered by the experts.
Submitted by Stan Hutchings
I enjoyed reading this newsletter, so I'm sharing it with SPAUG (including subscribe/unsubscribe):
Google Friends on Google Groups.
Here's an interesting tidbit: "You may have already heard about searching for TV shows with Google Video. But did you know that you can also search the program content of those shows? This is because Google Video makes use of closed-caption transcripts. " And here's another, "Google Video has an Upload Program, and we're accepting digital video files of any length and size."
Submitted by Stan Hutchings
The Blue Brain Project was launched by the Brain Mind Institute, EPFL, Switzerland and IBM, USA to simulate the brain from the molecular to the whole brain level. Their stated goal is to eventually simulate the whole brain with the greatest level of detail computationally possible.
This project requires precise quantification of the brain's micro-architecture (BMI expertise), the state-of-art approaches to simulate complex systems (IBM expertise) and powerful supercomputing (available in the new Blue Gene/L Supercomputer). The first phase of the BBP will be to replicate, in software, the Neocortical Column (NCC) composed of 10,000 morphologically complex neurons and 10^8 synapses for real-time simulations. The second phase of the project will be to a) simulate a NCC at molecular level detail and b) to simplify the NCC for repeated duplication, recapitulating the evolutionary process, to simulation progressively large brain regions and eventually the whole brain.
Submitted by Stan Hutchings
If the expense and complication of Adobe Acrobat is too much, PDFCreator easily creates PDFs from any Windows program. Use it like a printer in Word, StarCalc or any other Windows application. Get it here at SourceForge.Net, it's donationware - if you like it and keep using it, make a donation.
Submitted by Stan Hutchings
Find out how spam, malware and spyware infest your computer - and how you can strike back. Worried that your privacy is being invaded by spyware programs collecting information about you without your knowledge? Annoyed by a constant flood of unwanted emails clogging your inbox? Now you can learn the tools and techniques you need to fight back. In just four sessions, you'll learn how to quickly detect whether spyware has infected your computer and how to use specialized tools to safely remove it. You'll also get practical tips about ways to manage spam. ENROLL today in Help.com's FREE Combating Spam and Spyware online class.
courses.help.com
Submitted by Stan Hutchings