Veign's Blog - Unhandled Perception

Monday, July 31, 2006

Unstick that stuck file or folder

Ever try and delete a file or folder and get one of the following messages:
  • Cannot delete file: Access is denied
  • There has been a sharing violation.
  • The source or destination file may be in use.
  • The file is in use by another program or user.
  • Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use.
I did just last night trying to clean a friends computer. Tried shutting down all applications and processes but could not find what was locking it. I searched Google and came across a pretty cool free tool called Unlocker. Simple to use and works like a charm.

Link:
http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/

Free Movies Fallen out of Copyright (Public Domain)

Free Movies Fallen out of Copyright (Public Domain): "Free Movies, Documentaries, Cartoons, Music & Comedy - 100% handpicked content chosen to inform, educate, shock and entertain you."

Microsoft unveils Vista upgrade matrix

Microsoft unveils Vista upgrade matrix: "Microsoft has already laid the groundwork for confusion over the release of Windows Vista, with their announcement that the new operating system will come in as many as six different versions. A few of these can be discounted for most users, such as the crippled Starter Edition designed for delivery to third-world markets, and the Enterprise Edition which will typically find itself in the big Fortune 500 office. This still leaves four different skus: Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate."

Sunday, July 30, 2006

GoDaddy will not let you register a domain containing GoDaddy

If you go to Godaddy.com and try and register any domain that contains the phrase GoDaddy it will not let you complete the transaction. Try it. Register ljdasnxcweriGoDaddy84398sjdfkl.com. Won't happen. In fact, it will not even give you suggestions.

Register.com has not problem with domains with Register in it.

What's up with that?

100 oldest dot com domains

100 oldest dot com domains: Interesting. Surprised on some of the domains not on the list...

Friday, July 28, 2006

See where all the ships are

Why? Why Not....

Link:
http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/shiplocations.phtml

Two new Google offerings (Google Code and Project)

The first is Google Code. I never knew this existed (and I have a list for everything Google). Apparently is basically what the title says, Google code. API's, Google software patches, and open source projects using Google and the API's. This is the place to go if you are a developer looking to develop around Google.

The second is Google Code Project Hosting. Basically Google is creating a place where developers can host their open source projects. Google provides a 'homepage' of sorts for the project. Its kinda like a very stripped down version of SourceForge.

What does this mean? Google wants more data - feed me!

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Yahoo! Korea launches a visualization tool for inbound links

Check it out. Not in English but you can get the idea...

Is Kazaa legal and clean?

Rumor has it that Kazaa has changed its tune and not only became a legal download service, but also removed all spyware from its bundle. Kazaa has been notorious for some of the worst malware in any application.

Gonna try it? Not me.

Link:
http://www.kazaa.com

Quote of the day - just heard on the news

"Management is keeping the 9 guys that hate your guts from the 9 guys that haven't made up their mind yet"

And since I don't post quotes of the day, we can call this the quote of the week, month, and year...

What is your average reaction time?

Test your reaction time:
http://kylan.newgrabs.com/reaction.swf

My best average was: 0.219

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Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Toolkit to Disable Automatic Delivery of IE 7

Toolkit to Disable Automatic Delivery of Internet Explorer 7: "The Internet Explorer 7 Blocker Toolkit enables IT Administrators to disable automatic delivery of Internet Explorer 7 as a high-priority update via Automatic Updates and the Windows Update and Microsoft Update sites."

Link:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...

I need to just sit down and write something

I have had so many problems with my past webhosting company that I just need to sit down and vent a bit. This post is a long time coming.

Coming soon to a blog near you...

Doesn't get any worse than this

Just in case you wanted to know what the Deadliest Poisons are.

The biggest hole in the world


The biggest hole in the world

BE WARNED: The site plays a lot of tricks with its ads to get you to click. Just look and don't click anything! Or better yet just view the picture above.

Become.com: a shopping assistance

Become will assist you in locating a product to purchase. What it does it place all the important information for making a purchase a single click away (once a research type search has been completed). this means product reviews, buying guides, prices comparisons, and product details are quickly accessible - when Reasearch is selected. If you do a search and choose shop you are taken directly to the price comparison results.

The search suggestions is a nice feature that I kinda like. What it does is offer search terms as you type so you only have to type 3 characters before a list is presented to you.

Link:
http://www.become.com

IE7 to be distributed via Automatic Updates!

IE7 to be distributed via Automatic Updates!: "we will distribute IE7 as a high-priority update via Automatic Updates (AU) shortly after the final version is released for Windows XP"

Not surprised at all. MS basically forcing users to upgrade via their Automatic Update system.

Network Diagnostic Tool

Network Diagnostic Tool (KB914440): "The Network Diagnostics for Windows XP tool analyzes information about your network connectivity to help you troubleshoot network-related problems with your computer."

Link:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

A collection of strange links on Google.com

Some really strange links on Google.com.

Software getting more complex with each version?

Can you make a better sitcom?

These guys did and they made some short videos to prove it and sent them to the major TV networks. Well, it seems they may have there chance.

Are they good enough? I think so...

Nobody's Watching Part 1

Nobody's Watching Part 2

Nobody's Watching Part 3

Sunday, July 23, 2006

My current Firefox extension list

Not a whole changed since the last time...

Keepass out, Roboform in

I was using Keepass for many, many years and never really knew what I was missing until I really gave Roboform a try (only gave it the 100 mile look before). I must say Roboform is an excellent product that saves me a lot of time logging into the 100's of secure websites that I access (and no they are not porn sites). Sorry Keepass but you have a long way to go to compete with the big boys.

This is a must application for anyone.

Roboform:
http://www.roboform.com/

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Take a break with this free game

Within a Deep Forest is a free, kind of addicting game.

Link:
http://withinadeepforest.ni2.se/

Zune, the iPod killer?

Coming Zune launched by Microsoft. Pretty boring site, hopefully the product will do better than the teaser site.

Link:
http://www.comingzune.com/

IE not displaying (ignoring) CSS stylesheets

Weird problem with a computer that I am cleaning for a friend. IE will not use a stylesheet as specified by a webpage. Ignored the problem for a bit and cleaned the system: installed WinXP SP2, installed Windows Defender, install and run Adware and Spybot Search and Destroy, and clean up a bunch of temp files. Also, upgraded the driver for the graphics card as there were some issues with that. Now back to the IE problem. Went back to IE and problem was still around. After looking around I noticed that IE has some accessibility options that I never noticed before.

Internet Option -> General -> Accessibility (button at the bottom)
  • Ignore colors specified on Web pages
  • Ignore font styles specified on Web pages
  • Ignore font sizes specified on Web pages
Unchecked all of those (not sure why they were checked) and back in business...

Friday, July 21, 2006

Don't forget Safari with your website designs

Its pretty easy to get caught up in designing for 98% of the user of a website by hitting the majors: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Netscape. But don't alienate the Safari users out there.

Windows users can test a website in Safari by using on of two services: iCapture (free), BrowserCam (not so free). BrowserCam goes so far beyond Safari that its not a bad choice to 'finalize' your design by signing up for a month of their service.

If you're designing for Firefox there a pretty good chance it will work without issue in Safari but better to be safe than sorry.

iCapture:
http://www.danvine.com/icapture/

BrowserCam:
http://www.browsercam.com/

Thursday, July 20, 2006

New Feature: Link within a Video

Official Google Video Blog: New Feature: Link within a Video: "You're watching this documentary on monkeys and then halfway through, this monkey does the funniest thing ever. So of course, you want nothing more than to share this hilarious monkey moment with your friends. Now, on Google Video, doing just that is easier than ever.

Now you can email links to specific points inside a video! All you have to do is add the time you'd like to share to the end of a video's URL. We support hours (h), minutes (m), and seconds (s). "

Accessible Web Search for the Visually Challenged

Google Accessible Search launched from Google Labs to create a more accessible Google for the visually challenged.

Microsoft Money 2007 released

Microsoft Money 2007 released by Microsoft.

See what's new

I totally believe in managing your money. Amazing how much you can save just by knowing where your money is going and what your money is doing for you.

twttr

twttr

Top 10 Dumbest Online Business Ideas That Made It Big Time.

Top 10 Dumbest Online Business Ideas That Made It Big Time. Not sure how dumb they are if they earned the creator millions. Like #2, not such a bad idea if you ask me...

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Makes me thirsty

YouTube - Computer-generated animation of water

Be a better Googler

With this Google Advanced Operators (Cheat Sheet). Some useful search techniques I often use and can't image using Google without.

Link:
http://.../advanced_operators_reference.html

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Hey Mom, check out these pics I took of Blobby McSmear.

The 10 worst technologies in Q2 2006

Have to laugh at this line when talking about the Kodak Easyshare One camera:
"Hey Mom, check out these pics I took of Blobby McSmear."

AOL Retention Manual Revealed

AOL Retention Manual Revealed -Explains why its so difficult to cancel your AOL account.

Sysinternals (WinInternals) now owned by Microsoft

SysInternals / WinInternals has been bought out by Microsoft. Wondering if the applications will remain free or if Microsoft will spin the tools into some sort of software suite. Also, how bloated and useless will the tools become now that Microsoft has its hands on the code.

Oh well, this might be the end of a great set of system tools.

Link:
http://.../on-my-way-to-microsoft.html

Monday, July 17, 2006

KnowledgebasePublisher next release preview

Knowledgebase Publisher just keeps getting better and the developer has given me a teaser of what's to come in the next version

What's coming:
  • "Roles" tab in admin area (it will be for members)
  • Any article could be private
  • Any private article or category could be assigned to any role then only members with required role will be able to see that article(s)
  • Articles will have meta keywords and meta description
  • RSS feed on new articles (possibly coming in the next release)
Link:
http://www.kbpublisher.com

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See the new Yahoo!

Yahoo! launched its new website today officially releasing the cluttered, portal looking, non-attractive, poorly organized homepage today for the world to see.

Do you Yahoo!? I don't!

You ever listen to TWiT?

TWiT is a podcast with Leo Laporte (from the old Tech TV) that discusses everything technology, hence the name This Week in Technology.

Link:
http://www.twit.tv/

Sunday, July 16, 2006

So you wanna make some cash from your website

Then check out a few of the ad services that pay you when a user clicks.

AdSense (Google):
http://google.com/adsense/

Publisher Network (Yahoo!):
http://publisher.yahoo.com/

ValueClick Media:
http://www.valueclickmedia.com/index.shtml

Casale Media:
http://casalemedia.com/

ContentAds (Microsoft):
not available yet

The easiest way to see what's on TV

Zap2It makes it so easy to see what's on TV that there really is no other solution for me. This site is clean, fast, and best of all Free.

Link:
http://tvlistings5.zap2it.com/tvlistings/

Saturday, July 15, 2006

YouOS?

"YouOS is an experiment in a new kind of computing platform."

The thing about this that confuses me is that they claim to be an Operating System. How is that since the definition of an Operating System is "A software layer that manages the hardware resources of a computer". Not sure *any* web based application could be considered an OS since you won;t be able to boot your computer from it - too many things have had to occur before your ready to start browsing. At the very most it could be considered a shell of some sort and even that is a stretch.

Not sure about you but I have no desire to have my system stripped down to nothing more than a browser and a file system. Basially run my software through some sort of browser based desktop.

Link:
https://www.youos.com/

Friday, July 14, 2006

Microsoft Withdraws Private Folder App

Microsoft Withdraws Private Folder App: "Following a barrage of criticism from security experts and IT administrators, Microsoft has withdrawn its new Private Folder application."

Quick Safari CSS hack

/* Works in all browsers */
#testhack{background-color: blue;}

/* Will fail in Safari, and therefore Safari will be the only */
/* browser to apply the above style */
#testhack{background-color: red;#}

So the background color in Safari will be blue, all others will be red.

A very useful list of web tools

I checked out yet another list of web tools over at Protolize and was surprised at how many new and useful things I found. Already downloaded some cheat sheets at Tech Cheat Sheets, found a nice archive of pre-made web forms over at The Form Assembly, found a very extensive htaccess file creator, and a variety of PHP tools.

Link:
http://www.protolize.org

Thursday, July 13, 2006

See exactly how a user navigates your website

ClickTale: "ClickTale shows you the full story: every mouse movement, every click and every scrolling action. By using ClickTale you will gain insights that will improve your website's usability, enhance navigation, and increase effectiveness."

Using information that ClickTale makes available could be an invaluable resource in your web marketing. Right now they are in a closed beta so its unknown how eactly things work but I am very curious about this one. Hopefully a public beta will be made available soon.

Link:
http://www.clicktale.com

RSS, a non-technical explanation

A non-technical explanation of RSS: "RSS is a data format for syndicating content on the World Wide Web."

If you're not using RSS in some way then you are missing a very easy way to get your news. RSS + Aggregator (like Sage for Firefox) = quick news.

Link:
http://www.ofzenandcomputing.com/zanswers/129

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Firefox 2.0 Beta 1 screenshots

See it here first, ok not here but close enough.




Some new things:
  • Built in spell checker
  • Each tab has its own closed button
  • Better RSS integration
  • Ability to open recently closed tabs through the history feature

Rocketboom v2.0

Rocketboom has released it first video since the departure of Amanda with the new host, Joanne Colan.

Will it survive?

Virtual PC Is Now Free!

Microsoft Virtual PC 2004: "Whether Microsoft virtualization technology is an important component of your existing infrastructure or you're just a Virtual PC enthusiast, you can now download Virtual PC 2004 Service Pack 1 absolutely free. Microsoft is also offering the free download of Virtual PC 2007, with support for Windows Vista in 2007."

Free Website Icons:

I am always looking for new sources for graphics that can be used in my website designs. Free Website Icons is a decent source for web 2.0 looking icons to use freely in your website.

Link:
http://www.websiteicons.com

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Heatseek : A browser just for porn

Heatseek is a browser built for porn. Now I've seen everything.

Monday, July 10, 2006

http://www.ziqing.net

http://www.ziqing.net - What's the point? If nothing then why is there a Go To Google.com link at the bottom?

Also, the results returned are not the same...

Gmail for utlemming.org

Gmail for utlemming.org: "Welcome to utLemming.org (BYU-Idaho LUUG) Webmail, Powered by Google"

What is this from Google? Anyone ever hear of it or know more about it?

Reverse IP on Microsoft.com

Doing a reverse IP on Microsoft.com you can see other domains they have:
  1. ithelpguy.com
  2. lovecudgel.com
  3. starboardsystems.net
  4. verypass.com
  5. illegalmonopoly.com
  6. blueyonderairlines.com
  7. baldwinmuseumofscience.com
  8. bringeveryonetogether.com
  9. clubpocketpc.com
  10. cohowinery.com
  11. cohovineyard.com
  12. creaturehouse.com
  13. dot-truth.com
  14. fourthcoffee.com
  15. humongousinsurance.com
  16. ionportz.org
  17. litwareinc.com
  18. southridgevideo.com
  19. tedslemonaid.com
  20. torkthegame.com
Look at #5

(this is a sample of the 100's of domains they have)

Phone Notify Web Service

PhoneNotify Web Service will call any number in the US or Canada and repeat some text that you type.

This couldn't cause any problems, could it?

Microsoft Private Folder 1.0

"Microsoft Private Folder 1.0 is a useful tool for you to protect your private data when your friends, colleagues, kids or other people share your PC or account. With this tool, you will get one password protected folder called 'My Private Folder' in your account to save your personal files. Download and have your private folder today!"

Link:
http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/offers/...

How to Convert a .BAT file or .VBS file into .EXE to Enable Pinning to XP Start Menu

Renegade's Random Tech: How to Convert a .BAT file or .VBS file into .EXE to Enable Pinning to XP Start Menu

Why so quiet lately?

Amazing how busy things have become. Just when I started to see some daylight with projects I landed a few big websites and one application development project. Since all the work has been coming in I have been a little slow to the blogging schene and it is has resulted in regurgitating other bloggers posts and technology links.

It will change...

Sunday, July 09, 2006

This is one crazy road

Check out what could be the most dangerous road:
http://javimoya.com/blog/pics/200607/bolivia.htm

Saturday, July 08, 2006

A look inside of Google

Behind the Glass Curtain: "Google’s new headquarters balances its utopian desire for transparency with its very real need for privacy."

Friday, July 07, 2006

Create a Log file with Notepad

Features of LOG and Time/Date Command in Notepad: "If you type .LOG in capital letters as the first line in a Notepad file, Notepad should automatically add the current time and date to the end of the file every time you open it."

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Free AOL, legally?

As people finally learn that AOL is really just not needed anymore for internet or email, AOL may give its services away for free. I still find it amazing that people use or pay for the AOL services these days. This could actually be a smart move for AOL to try and boost revenue from Ad sales and stop the bleeding from the loss of customers.

Link:
http://.../Report_AOL_Considering_Free_Access/1152205144

Find the best hiking trails

I'm always looking for a new place to explore and Trail Link makes it a bit easier. I'm all about the online solution rather than a book.

Link:
http://.../TrailSearch/default.asp

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

The Ultimate Keyboard

The Ultimate Keyboard from Microsoft is pretty damn cool.

Amanda and Rocketboom part ways

Its too bad that the face of Rocketboom, Amanda Congdon, have parted ways. Its not all that it appears to be and you can see Amanda's blog post on the matter.

Rocketboom just won't be the same...

See how fast you can type!

See how fast you can type!

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

If Google Didn't Exist...

If Google Didn't Exist...

Happy 4th of July

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Does Windows take forever to shut down?

Try the User Profile Hive Cleanup Service from Microsoft. This will cleanup the user profile hive when a user logs off and prevents the 'timeout' delay that some users experience when shutting down.

I went from minutes to seconds on shutting down.

Link:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...

Monday, July 03, 2006

How Fireworks Work

How Fireworks Work: "Have you ever wondered how this magic works? What is launched into the sky to make these beautiful displays? In this article, you will learn all about aerial fireworks."

Link:
http://www.howstuffworks.com/fireworks.htm

Open source Knowledge Base hits the mark

Knowledgebase Publisher is one of the best, if not the best, Knowledge Base applications around. I looked around for a long time and stumbled across this application. What is does is allow you to quickly and easily put up a knowledge base (kinda like the MSDN from Microsoft) on your website. This one is on its way to beating its commercial competitor.

Another thing that makes this application so good is the developer is quick to respond when asked for help and is actively developing it to make it better.

I just put up Horse911.com to test the application.

Link:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/kbpublisher/

Sunday, July 02, 2006

Real time satellite tracking

See real time satellite tracking from a Google Map mashup.

Kinda boring, uneventful, but sorta interesting.

Saturday, July 01, 2006

List of Backup Utilities, Online and Desktop

List of Backup Utilities, Online and Desktop: The desktop list is quite lacking, doesn't even list Microsoft's Sync Toy, but the online list may be helpful.

Link:
http://.../couchsurfingcom-goes-down-but-a-lesson-learned/

The Web 2.0 Color Palette

The Web 2.0 Color Palette is a collection of 70 or so colors that seem to be prevalent in web 2.0 websites.

Link:
http://.../the-web-20-secret-weapon/