January 24, 2010

Geek Solutions for Computer Problems

I would like to.....
Have one tool to tweak, repair or enhance my pc
Scan & protect my computer for malware
Remove specific or stubborn malware
Protect my computer from viruses
Check for rootkits
Block spam or make better use of my email
Protect my computer with a firewall
Monitor or run diagnostics to find a problem
Test the memory in my PC
Free up hard drive space
Clean my registry
Better defragment my hard drive
Find a better browser
Find out what is inside my computer
Recover deleted files or photos
Backup data including CD's or DVD's
Find tools to manage or play my multimedia collection
Edit or organize my photos
Find tools to improve office productivity
Know what other freebies you guys love?

Have one tool to tweak, repair or enhance my pc:

Advanced System Care 3

X-Setup

Glary Utilities

Scan & protect my computer for Malware - Malicious software (Pick at least two):

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

SUPERAntiSpyware

Spybot Search And Destroy

Comodo BOClean Anti-Malware

Protect my computer from viruses : (Pick only one)

AVG Free Edition

AntiVir

Avast! Home Edition

Remove specific or stubborn malware: (Pick at least two)

Assassin

Kaspersky Free Cleaner

avast! Virus Cleaner Tool

Kill2me

CWShredder

Trend Micro CWShredder

WinPatrol

Pocket Killbox

Hijack This!

Check for Rootkits: (Pick at least one)

Sophos Anti-Rootkit

Trend Micro RootkitBuster

F-Secure BlackLight

Gmer

Block spam or make better use of my email: (Pick one)

K9

Outlook on the Desktop

Protect my computer with a firewall: (Pick only one)

Online Armor Free

PC Tools Firewall Plus

Zone Alarm Free

Outpost Free

Comodo Personal Firewall

Monitor or run diagnostics to find a problem: (Pick as many as needed)

UBCD4Win

Sysinternals Troubleshooting Utilities

Test the memory in my PC: (Pick one or more)

Memtest86

Memtest86+

Microsoft Windows Memory Diagnostic

Video Memory Stress Test

Free up hard drive space: (Pick one or more)

Comodo System Cleaner

CCleaner Slim (Also registry cleaner, startup manager)

Clean or manage my registry: (Backup first, registry editing can be dangerous)

RegSeeker

RegCleaner

Registry Distiller

Better defragment my hard drive: (Pick one or more)

Power Defragmenter GUI

Diskeeper Lite

Find a better Browser: (Pick one or more)

Find out what is inside my computer: (Pick one or more)

SIV (System Information Viewer)

Belarc Advisor

Process Explorer

WinAudit

SiSoftware Sandra Lite

Recover deleted files or photos: (Pick one or more)

Recuva File Recovery

Undelete Plus

PC Inspector Smart recovery

Free Undelete

Unstoppable Copier

Backup data including CD's or DVD's: (Pick one or more)

Find tools to manage or optimize my multimedia: (Pick one or more)

iTunes Agent

Zoom Player Standard

1by1 - The Directory Player

QuickTime Alternative

K-Lite Codec Pack Full

Vista Codec Package

myFairTunes (DRM removal)

Edit or organize my photos: (Pick one or more)

XnView

FastStone Image Viewer

Find tools to improve office productivity: (Pick one or more)

OpenOffice.org - Complete office suite

OxygenOffice Professional - Complete office suite

Abi Word - Wordpad replacement

Notepad 2 - Notepad replacement with HTML support

Notepad++ - Notepad replacement that supports many programming languages

Qjot - Notepad, Wordpad replacement that can be portable

Money Manager Ex - Personal finance software like MSMoney

EverNote - Note taking application

FoxIt Reader - Create, edit and read .PDF files

Mobysaurus Thesaurus - off-line English thesaurus

Tomahawk PDF - Create, edit and read .PDF files

Know what other freebies you guys love?: (Pick one or more)

DVD Flick - Turn your video files into a DVD.

Secunia Personal Software Inspector - Scan software on your PC for updates.

Revo Uninstaller - Remove any unwanted application installed on your computer.

JavaRa - Update Sun Java, remove older versions and tweak install.

Norton Removal Tool - Remove Norton including things the uninstaller might miss

McAfee Consumer Product Removal Tool - Remove Mcafee including things the uninstaller might miss

Windows Error Messages - Look up those weird Windows error messages

AI RoboForm - A killer password manager for websites

ieSpell - spell check text input boxes on a webpage

Google Toolbar - Search and use Google features from your browser

3DMark 06 - (Benchmark and compare your PC

RemoveWGA - Remove the Microsoft "Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications" tool

Skype - Make phone calls over the internet

KeyFinder Thing Lite - Retrieve many Microsoft program serial numbers

Protected Storage PassView - Reveals Internet Explorer and Outlook passwords

BootVis - Speed up XP boot times. Note, it is heavily debated whether this helps.

Clipdiary - A freeware utility for keeping the clipboard history.

DriverMax - Export and reinstall your drivers.

Trillian - IRC, AIM, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo! Messenger in one client.

Comments [0]

January 16, 2010

Are you getting the maximum use out of your vehicle?

Click here to download:

Are_you_getting_the_maximum_us.zip (610 KB)

Comments [0]

January 15, 2010

Amazing pictures

You must have flash to see this embedded document.

(download)

Comments [0]

January 6, 2010

Happiness- Do you want fries with that?

January 6, 2010 by Claire Affleck

http://mindbodysmile.com/2010/01/06/happiness-do-you-want-fries-with-that/

In today's modern society we can get most everything in an instant. Fast food. Fast cars. Instant messages. Emails. Text messages. Online ordering. Instant gratification. One would think that with everything being right at our finger tips that we would be happy with all of this instant gratification.

Why then are so many people unhappy?

While many of our needs, wants, and desires can be taken care of instantly many more cannot and this is where many people become restless and unhappy. Success in any aspect of life does not happen instantly. Nobody, no matter what the tabloids say, literally becomes successful or famous or rich over night. Successful people work hard, are determined, and often, according to Malcolm Gladwell, put in over 10,000 hours of practice before making it big. If Jack Canfield had wanted instant success he never would have gotten the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books published. He would have given up because over 100 publishers turned him down before any one told him yes. That was not instantaneous. A lot of people believe that becoming more successful will make them happy. If they are going to wait until they are successful to be happy then they've missed out on enjoying the journey that takes you there. Imagine if the Beatles had not enjoyed their 10,000 hours of practice before becoming famous. If you are already happy and enjoying life, then logging in the hours and working hard is an afterthought and success will come.

This brings me to the most important point. No thing, no amount of success, fame, or money, can MAKE you happy.

YOU must make yourself happy! When you are a happy person from the inside out then no matter what comes or doesn't come your way, it's something you can handle. If your happiness depends on a certain number in the bank account, or what other people think of you then your happiness is vulnerable to outside influences.

Happiness does not come in an instant; you cannot order it in the drive thru with a side of fries.

Be a happy person first, appreciate the journey, and success will find you.

Claire Affleck
Claire Affleck Training website

----------------------

Comments [0]

January 5, 2010

Alanna Shaikh's Insightful Comments

What Poor People Have

view of Indian slum home

These photos were published a couple of months ago, but I just ran into them today.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/11/03/planet_slum?page=0,4

A Norwegian photojournalist spent six weeks living in the slums of Nairobi, Caracas, and Jakarta.

He took panoramic photographs of the homes that he saw there.

I found them extremely moving, in an unexpected way. This is not the usual set of poverty pity tragic pictures.

That element is there – what do you say about the family in Jakarta living in a house you can’t stand up in?

But what struck me was just how homey many of these slum dwellings are.

No matter how small or desperate the structure was, people were doing their best to make it a home.

The pictures feature decorations, family photos – efforts to make the spaces personal and welcoming.

It was a strong reminder of just how similar we humans are at our core.

It was also a strong reminder that no matter how poor a person might be, you can never say they have nothing.

http://bloodandmilk.org/?p=1441

http://bloodandmilk.org/?p=1248

Nothing, something, and more

Bad development work is based on the idea that poor people have nothing. Something is better than nothing, right? So anything you give these poor people will be better than what they had before. Even if it’s your old clothes, technology they can’t use, or a school building with no teacher.

But poor people don’t have nothing. They have families, friends – social ties. They have responsibilities. They have possessions, however meager. They have lives, no matter what those lives look like to Westerners.

The “it’s better than nothing” argument is meaningless. No one is starting from nothing. If you find yourself saying, “our program/charity/intervention is better than nothing” that’s more than just damning faint praise, it’s a sign that you have a problem.

Good development work is based on the idea of more. Identify what people have already, and what they value. Work with them to figure out how they can get more of that. More education, or more money, or more food. More control over their lives. Whatever it is, the focus should be on getting more of what they need - not some of whatever we can find.

*********

Chosen because the look in this girl’s eyes and her carefully tied scarf prove my point.

-----------

Comments [0]

December 30, 2009

Weather Bonk - Live Weather, Forecasts, WebCams

http://www.weatherbonk.com

Comments [0]

December 27, 2009

How I Am Preparing to Get Alzheimer's Disease by Alanna Shaikh, guest blogger

http://blog.speakingoffaith.org/post/301684942/how-i-am-preparing-to-get-alzheimers-disease

My father has Alzheimer’s disease. I am losing him in inches and pieces. It hurts. He is my hero and my mentor, and now I help him remember how to put on his clothes every morning.

My father has Alzheimer’s disease. There is a powerful genetic component to the disease, and I share a lot of my father’s risk factors, including bad triglycerides, a viral infection, and elevated cholesterol unaffected by diet. The odds are frighteningly high that I will someday get Alzheimer’s too. In 25 or 30 years, when it comes for me, maybe there will be a cure — but I can’t count on that.

My dad taught me how to learn from everything I see, no matter how hard it was. He was a professor of Human Anatomy and Physiology, and told me once that he was present when his mother died. He held her hand and told her how much he loved her. As she died, he catalogued her body’s shutdown, comparing it to what he’d read — because he was a scientist.

And so, now, I am learning from my father. It’s what he taught me to do. And what he’s teaching me now — his last lesson for me — is what it means to live with Alzheimer’s, and by extension, what I can do to get ready.

First, I am getting new hobbies. My dad is an intellectual. All his hobbies were brain hobbies — reading, chess, poker, bridge. Now he can’t follow them. He recognizes his beloved chess pieces, but he doesn’t remember how to play. Reading is too slow and too hard to be enjoyable, and he can’t play cards at all. He has no way to keep busy. So I’m learning hobbies that use my hands. I spend more time drawing, and I’m learning to knit. I want to teach my hands, so that when my mind can’t do it, my fingers still can.

Second, I’m living my life as fully as possible. Dad got knocked out of his game too soon, but he had achieved enough for a long, long life. The work he loved, and the impact he had on his students — it was more than most people do in their lives. His contribution to our world does not fall short, even if he ran out of time. I am trying to do the same thing — to give as much as I can to the people around me, to work and think and create and contribute as much as I possibly can, in case my time ends early.

The most important thing I’ve learned from my father: love. My father built his life around the people he cared about. Me, my mom, and my brother were the center of his world. For his birthday, he’d tell us to get things for ourselves because he liked seeing us happy — and he actually meant it. But we weren’t the only ones he loved. He loved the students he taught, he loved his friends, and he loved our extended family — both his own and my mother’s.

Now, with so little left of him, my father still has his love. Seeing his wife, his children, and his grandson brings him joy. He can sit just watching my son read a book. Simply living with his family, my dad can find happiness.

The people he cared about through his life still remember my father. We get postcards, letters, the occasional package. And he is still finding new people to care about; he hasn’t lost his love for people. He likes it when we have guests over. He still flirts with all my female friends. He loves his aide and the omelets she makes him every morning.

I have never loved people like my dad did. He had patience and affection for everyone — for people who told boring stories repeatedly, for people I thought were stupid, for people who were afraid of everything, for people totally full of themselves or so shy they could hardly talk. Dad loved people I could barely stand to talk to. He used to ask me to show patience, tolerance, compassion — and I’d promise to try — with no real sincerity.

So now I am trying to learn my biggest lesson from my dad, the lesson I am trying to live every single day. I’m finding people to love; I’m finding things to love in people. I am trying to love people like my dad always did. I am building my capacity for love now, so it can sustain me later.

And if, in the end, like my father, there is nothing left of me but my love, that won’t be a tragedy. It will be my victory.

Ms. Sheikh writes about international development and global health issues.

We follow her at Blood and Milk and on Twitter; we saw this tweet and reached out to her.

-----------

I first met Alanna's father when I was 18 - I will be 56 soon.

Everything Alanna shared about her Dad's humanity is true.

He has been teacher, mentor, and the greatest friend I have ever known - and there are many other people who feel as I do.

His life is a life well lived - and he is made immortal by the contributions he made to others and the way they carry his gentle, wise, and loving influence forward.

Alanna shares many of her father's fine traits.

~ Ned Snyder

http://unhub.com/NedSnyder

-----------

Comments [0]

December 24, 2009

"No Job, No Home, Please Help" - What You Can Do

http://www.kristenjacoway.com/no-job-no-home-please-help-what-will-you-do-2/

iStock 000001389105XSmall No Job, No Home, Please Help What Will You Do?

This past weekend, a man held a sign that said, "No Job, No Home, Please Help" kneeling on one knee at the entrance of where people turn to get on the interstate. We have all seen the signs, "Will Work for Food" and other signs like it amid the recession and high unemployment rates. What can we do to help? The image especially troubles me at this time of the year, but indeed, breaks my heart year-round. I want to help, like many of you, but have not been sure of a good way to help.

I researched some ways of some items you can easily have in your car to help. Please feel free to add suggestions of ways to help in the comments section.

Look up "Shelters" in your Yellow Pages and put the shelter (s) name on a card with their address and phone number. Perhaps have some calling cards available to give to people so that they may make a phone call for help.

From e-How, I found the things you'd want to include in a Hospitality Bag (written by Bob Waldrop).

You can view the full article here, "How to Make a Hospitality Bag to Help the Homeless"

iStock 000004988793XSmall 265x300 No Job, No Home, Please Help What Will You Do?

Here are some of Mr. Waldop's suggestions for your Hospitality Bag.

Paper lunch bags

Small packaged foods like Vienna sausages, sardines, peanut butter and crackers, etc.

Granola or "power" bars

Clean socks

Hand lotion

Hard candies

Small servings of canned fruit or pudding

Plastic zip lock bag

Dry washcloth

Small soap

Napkin and spoon

Some other ideas for your hospitality bag might include Potted Meat, individual sizes of Peanut Butter, applesauce, juice boxes, individual packages of nuts, peanut butter or cheese crackers, bottled water, and / or individual packages of cereal.

You could also assemble hygiene bags to distribute that includes such things as toilet paper, soap, shampoo, deodorant, feminine products, toothpaste, dental floss, and / or diapers.

At this time of the year, having some extra gloves, hats, blankets, sweat shirt, sweat pants, or anything warm is a big way to help. You never know if there might be an entire family affected and this person is the one who is going out looking for help.

You may decide to go and purchase a meal for them at a fast food restaurant so that they may have a warm meal.

I have seen many people in a public place (i.e. in the downtown area, by the interstate, etc.) and it would be very easy to have these kits available in my car to give to someone. I've read where one man assembles these types of kits (including the blankets) in a thrift store backpack to hand out to people. Of course, be careful and approach people with caution. Make sure you are in a busy area where other people are around.

What are your ideas and what will you do?

-----------

Comments [0]

December 24, 2009

Cost Savings of Living Without Cable TV

http://www.iseff.com/post/181268467/the-cost-savings-of-living-without-cable-tv

Advantage ...

http://www.hulu.com

I'll be completely honest: I'm a TV junkie. TV is extremely therapeutic for me. It's a great way to shutdown my brain after a long day of work. I like news, sitcoms, dramas, reality shows, game shows, and especially sports. I didn't think I could live without cable/satellite, especially given my reliance on watching sports (ESPN was really the only thing holding me back).

However, recently I moved from Seattle to Los Angeles. I also left a fairly high-paying job at Amazon.com for a not-so-high paying position as a co-founder of a new startup, AppStoreHQ. Colleen also went from a full-time worker to a graduate student with loans. These things have made our lives much more frugal. We've really tried to cut back on many things, especially any recurring expenses. Here's where we cut back on TV.

The Setup

First, how we watch TV (see pics at the end):

HDTV Antenna: We hooked up an HDTV Antenna to our LCD TV so we can get local HD stations. This supports watching many of our favorite shows, like The Office and 30 Rock and Two and a Half Men, etc. It also supplies us with the big sporting events that tend to be played on the networks (think: playoffs, Super Bowl, Olympics, etc). The antenna itself can be slightly flaky and we have to move it down to the ground and place it in the right position to make sure the signal is good, but once we get it set, it works really well and the quality is actually probably better than Comcast's highly awful HD.
The Computer - MacBook -> Apple Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter + Belkin Y Audio Cable Splitter -> DVI to HDMI cable -> Samsung 32" LCD HDTV: This supplies most of the other TV programming. We use a variety of services to give us programming now, but mostly it's a combination of Hulu and ESPN360.
DVD Player: Right now I'm actually using an original XBox for my DVD player until I get my Blu-Ray player replaced (lost in our move), but it works fine. We get our DVDs from Netflix.

The Benefits

Cost: This is the biggest benefit and see below for a full-analysis of cost savings.
Time-shifting: I can watch all of the Hulu and ESPN360 and Netflix programming any time I want, and I don't have any limits on how much I can store on my hard drive or how much I can record at once. And I don't have to pay for a special box to do so.
Less Ads: There's actually less ads while watching Hulu or Netflix than if I watched the shows on TV. ESPN360 still has a lot of ads, but surprisingly, they're not selling any every single ad is for ESPN (which can get quite annoying after watching the same 5 commercials for an entire day of college football). Given how much money Hulu apparently generates, I'd be shocked if ESPN isn't working hard on this.

The Pitfalls

Quality: The quality of certain things particularly ESPN360 is pretty low. Hulu's is high, and Netflix is high, too, so it's not all bad. I do wish that ESPN360's quality was better, though.
Loss of computer use: This is annoying. When I'm plugged in and watching a show, I could be using my computer (and sometimes still do), but I have to literally stand up and use it in front of the TV. I'd love someone to make a device which allows me to wirelessly stream to my TV so I could keep the laptop in front of me and watch the streaming on the TV.
Not quite real time: This is particularly true for ESPN360 as I learned yesterday during the Michigan game. ESPN360 appears to be about 30-60 seconds behind live, which is terrible if someone calls or text messages you about a play you haven't seen yet.

The Cost Savings

This is the biggest win overall, so let's see how much I'm really spending.

Starting with the up-front costs:

HD Antenna: $35
Cables: $5.50 + $5.50 + $26.00 = $37.00
Total: $35.00 + $37.00 = $72.00

And the recurring costs:

Netflix: $15/month.
AT&T DSL Internet: $35/month.
Total: $15 + $35 = $50/month

Now let's see what the old system cost, again starting with up-front costs:

There was some Comcast installation charge for the TV and internet, I don't remember what it was, but am pretty sure it was around $50.
Total: $50

And the old system's recurring costs:

Netflix: $15/month.
Comcast Cable Internet: $40/month.
Comcast Cable TV (HDTV+DVR): $60/month.
Total: $15 + $40 + $60 = $115/month.

Now let's consider the total costs over a two-year period:

Old system: $50 + 24*$115 = $2,810
New System: $70 + 24*$50 = $1,270
Total Cost Savings Over a Two Year Period: $2,810 - $1,270 = $1,540

That's pretty solid if you ask me. And I fully expect the service quality, features, and available programming to get far better over the next two years as well. Finally, here are a couple pics of what it looks like, first while using ESPN360 and second while using the HD Antenna.

-----------

Comments [0]

December 24, 2009

Last-minute gifts you can give yourself

http://blogs.psychcentral.com/weightless/2009/12/22-last-minute-gift-ideas/

Hopefully, you're done with your Christmas shopping.

Instead, let's talk about last-minute gifts for yourself that you can give today, on Christmas, all weekend and beyond:

1. 10 minutes of yoga or your favorite physical activity.

2. Reading from your fave inspirational book.

3. Giving yourself a compliment.

4. Giving yourself a hug (cheesy, maybe; comforting, yes).

5. A quiet few minutes to yourself.

6. A letter of appreciation to yourself.

7. Reading from the Bible or other religious text.

8. Meditating.

9. Taking a long bath or shower.

10. Forgiving yourself.

11. Thanking your body for being there for you, no matter how hard you are on it.

12. Making yourself a promise to be kinder, especially to your body.

13. Buying yourself a spa card.

14. Journaling or buying a journal (No matter what kind of day I'm having, browsing at Barnes and Noble always cheers me up, especially when I'm picking out journals).

15. Going out for coffee, and reflecting, if you like, on anythingthis year, what you're thankful for, excited about, what you'd like to change, what you love.

16. Buying a CD or listening to your fave music.

17. Getting up early on Christmas morning and taking a walk.

18. Sleeping in.

19. Writing out inspirational messages to yourself. They can be words of wisdom, words that say something positive about your body, your favorite quotes, motivating messages, scripture, excerpts from the Torah.

20. Praising yourself for something you did recently.

21. Eating intuitively.

22. A month of anything. When I asked my boyfriend about a last-minute gift he'd give himself, he excitedly said golf 365 days a year. Then, after studying my face for a minute or so, he said golf for a month. Think about what you'd love to do for a month, something really special for yourself, and do it.

What last-minute gifts will you give yourself?

-----------

Comments [0]

Tags

Happiness- Do you want fries with that?

What Poor People Have

Nothing, something, and more