Waste your time here.

Add StumbleUpon button to blogger(XML Layouts)

2008-11-11T01:17:00.001-07:00

Add StumbleUpon button to blogger(XML Layouts)

FINALLY it has been done!!!! This fine blog HERE has made a widgit for stumble upon to be used with blogger.

No more code nightmares for people like me (and maybe you).

THANK YOU

Creepy Skittles ad - Entertainment Videos | thevine.com.au

2008-11-10T21:40:00.000-07:00

Creepy Skittles ad - Entertainment Videos | thevine.com.au

You will not be disappointed. Seriously.

I want to rip out my eyes.

How to Videos on MonkeySee - Free Instructional Videos

2008-11-10T21:33:00.001-07:00

How to Videos on MonkeySee - Free Instructional Videos

"The highest quality most credible how-to videos on the web"

This site could keep you busy for hours! I checked it out and its got everything from love and relationships to personal finance, to cooking videos.

It even has an expert spotlight that features several well known industry names.

This, in my opinion, takes the junk out of You Tube, and gets right to the content.

Bravo, for creating a great user friendly product!

I'll be checking out "How to use a stability ball" for sure, I'm still recovering from my last attempt!

CIA Realizes It's Been Using Black Highlighters All These Years | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

2008-10-22T13:22:00.001-07:00

CIA Realizes It's Been Using Black Highlighters All These Years | The Onion - America's Finest News Source: "CIA Realizes It's Been Using Black Highlighters All These Years"

CIA Realizes It's Been Using Black Highlighters All These Years

CIA Director Porter Goss has ordered further internal investigation.

"Why did it go on for this long, and this far?" said Goss in a press conference called shortly after the report's release. "I'm as frustrated as anyone. You can't read a single thing that's been highlighted. Had I been there to advise [former CIA director] Allen Dulles, I would have suggested the traditional yellow color—or pink."

Goss added: "There was probably some really, really important information in these documents."

When asked by a reporter if the black ink was meant to intentionally obscure, Goss countered, "Good God, why?"

Goss lamented the fact that the public will probably never know the particulars of such historic events as the Cold War, the civil-rights movement, or the growth of the international drug trade.

"I'm sure the CIA played major roles in all these things," Goss said. "But now we'll never know for sure."

This is hilarious, check out the link for the full story....

HOWTO bypass Internet Censorship, a tutorial on getting around filters and blocked ports

2008-10-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

HOWTO bypass Internet Censorship, a tutorial on getting around filters and blocked ports

At last, I can check my email at work.

The 25 Best High-Tech Pranks

2008-10-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

The 25 Best High-Tech Pranks

Its been a long time since I've updated this, partly due to the fact that I'm not in the technology field anymore, so kind of out of the loop!

In saying that, this is a really cool read, and brings back great old memories.

Happy reading, you won't regret it!

Online FLV Converter : Download Online Videos direct to PC, iPod, PSP, iPhone, Mobile etc.Convert videos to .wmv, .mp4, .3gp, .mov, .mp3, .flv etc.Flv

2007-09-09T17:29:00.000-07:00

Online FLV Converter : Download Online Videos direct to PC, iPod, PSP, iPhone, Mobile etc.Convert videos to .wmv, .mp4, .3gp, .mov, .mp3, .flv etc.Flv , Flvplayer, Flv video,:

This Handy little guy converts online videos into various different formats! Looks good to me!

Worldometers - real time world statistics

2007-09-09T16:41:00.000-07:00

Worldometers - real time world statistics: "people who died of hunger today" and other real time statistics. I normally don't get too impressed by these sites, bit there are many different categories being updated real time, from Solar energy striking the earth to watching people die from all sorts of causes to people loosing access to drinking water...

StumbleUpon may be for Sale????

2006-11-15T08:40:00.001-07:00

First I'd like to apologize for my lack of posting lately, I've been really sick with that awful cold I'm sure all of you have experienced!

Today on my "Tech Crunch" feed I noticed something disturbing, for a small price of $50 million, my baby, my favorite FireFox extension/ time waster/ learning tool may be up bought. This does appear to be a rumour at this point, but I'm scared, I love stumbleupon! They can't change anything. You may remember my previous post about it, and my link is to your left if you want to check out my pages. If you don't have it, again I beg you, get it and use it its great.

According to the site

"Two sources have confirmed that the rapidly growing StumbleUpon recently approached at least one large Internet company to be acquired. The asking price was $50 million."

The CEO Garret Camp was asked about it and he refused, stating "we do not comment on rumours"

/> One potential buyer did say they met with Stumbleupon to talk about "possible business development deals", not an actual purchase.

It does seem, and I'm guilty of this myself, that Stumbleupon is loosing its original purchase and is now being used allot by people trying to start new websites. I do get allot of my traffic from the company, seeing how I did stumble my blog a few times for things like XP tips, but not every article that's for sure. According to the CEO Garret " the company has 1.5 million registered users and an average of 3.5 million page views per day" They can expect to be cash flow positive withing the next few months also.

I have to admit lately I've been seeing allot more retail sites via my stumbles, and I usually give them the thumbs down unless its a really great product, or there is something special I like about it. That's the point of the site is to explore pages with a social network that consists of contacts and pages connected by similar interests. I wouldn't like to see the quality of my stumbles start to decline into an advertising machine...but I do like to read cool blogs and the opinions of others which may be why I justify my site adding.

I guess its in the hands of the users, us. If we continue to like or dislike our sites, the money grabbers will be weeded out by our selections, and the tool will continue to produce quality stumbles. Its in our hands!!

Do I agree with trying to make a quick buck through it? NO, but in a world where businesses may be "made or broke" by Google's page rank, its pretty tempting to do whatever is possible to drive traffic to a site. In fact, driving traffic has become a business itself and so on.

Is this the end of social networking powered sites? Has the ugly corporate hand stepped in again and tainted another great idea? Or can the "Social" aspect of these tools still police itself..I think its up to the people..

/> So coming back to the original topic, I hope we can keep this cool gadget in our hands, don't sell!! Keep the money grabbing honest and keep off my pages!

Ahem,,, if you liked the article, feel free to click on an adsense add on your way out by goooooogle hehehehe

Jill :)

Technorati Tags: Stumbleupon for sale, web 2.0, technology, tech news

How to Ditch your Cell Phone Plan

2006-11-04T13:10:00.000-07:00

I was on Wired News today, and found a pretty good article that gives some good tips on how to get out of your cell phone contract. Some of the reasons are actually the cause of someone wanting out, others are the result of an impulse buy to get the newest phone I imagine as cheap as possible. We all have made cell phone blunders, and got stuck with bills, a bad company or bad bad service. Most of us are locked in to these giant cooperation's, having no choice to go along with it, until your plan runs out and then suddenly you are their best friend again! I say skip the contract if you can, and read the small print when signing all the time, shop around, don't impulse buy! This will save you the headaches of a bad decision for up to 3 years or even more. This is what they recommended : You can find link to the actual content here :http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.08/howtodigital.html

Here's a brief Rundown

»Be a squeaky wheel. Say you want out because the service isn't up to par. (And really, is it?) Then back that up by filing official complaints online with the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau.

(In Canadathis would be the BBB or numerous requests to speak to higher ups at the "Business office in my experience)

»Get off the grid. Study your provider's coverage map and find a town (maybe in Alaska?) with absolutely no service. Then tell the company you're moving there. They're not legally required to cut you loose, but frustrated consumers have reported success.

*This should work for other countries too... but don't actually move there! And if you are in an area where service is crappy, let them know!

»Join the Army. Some people have finagled their way out of a contract by claiming they just got orders to ship off to Iraq. Be warned: You may be asked for documentation.

*I'm not sure I agree with this one these days...lolont>

»Try a market-based fix. StarStart uphref="http://celltradeusa.com/" target="new">Celltradeusa.com matches unhappy mobile customers with people who'd like to sign up - at a discount, of course. You'll pay a $20 fee to sell your contract on the block.

»Shrink your plan. As a last resort, cut back to the bare minimum the provider allows and drop any frills, like picture-messaging. Depending on the number of months you have left, this could be cheaper than paying the typically prorated termination fee, which can often run up to $200.

Most of these would work, not sure about the second to last, I recommend being as nice and polite as possible, stating your reasons up front and then going as high up as you can, from my experience with working with Telcos and providers, the sqeeky wheel does get the grease, and a pleasant demeanour will get you way further than angry complaints like everyone else..try that first.

Happy cancelling!

The end of Internet Boredom as we know it: Stumbleupon!!

2006-10-31T19:40:00.000-07:00

Although many of you may be already familiar with this amazing FireFox extension, for those of you who aren't, its time to join one of then newer WEB 2.0 concepts! This is a social bookmarking site that allows you to rate pages (either thumbs up or down) and the more you rate, the more new pages you get..its like a random button that produces web pages for you based on your interests and previous selections. The more "friends" you have, the more pages you will be exposed to, and the best thing I like is every page I like is recorded for me in a great online profile. Mines to the left, the URL is http://jedichica.stumbleupon.com
You are welcome to have a peek at my blog and favorite sites which are all automatically categorized or tagged for you. You can also create your own personal tags, as I have for Blogging, or to refer to my friends. It has a crazy menu option that allows you to send you pages to other friends with the click of a button, and also has an inbox and awesome social network of great people that you can meet, that have the same interests as you! Its a great way to keep in touch with acquaintances and best friends, and the categories are almost unlimited, including some GREAT pics and adult sites if you are into that. Remember, someone wanted to bookmark these pages in the first place, its people motivated, not sponsors, so its really great! It is also available for Internet Explorer, I believe all recent versions... check it out at http://www.stumbleupon.com/
and feel free to visit me at my site above and add me as a friend to see my pages if you like them! I have to warn you though, its VERY addictive and pretty much can keep you occupied all day if you are a Internet junkie like me! For those of you that have it, I'm sure you love it, for those of you that don't, get it,,that's an order! Its free and will give you the best of the best that's out there, chosen by people just like you!!

Heres what the "experts" had to say:
" Channel surf the Internet with StumbleUpon! Discover great websites,
videos, pictures and more — all according to your interests."
stumbleupon website

"Stumbleupon is a brilliant downloadable toolbar that beds into your browser and gives you the chance to surf through thousands of excellent pages that have been stumbled upon by other web-users"

"Ranked 51st in 100 Best Products of the Year. When you click a toolbar button in FireFox it will transport you to a random site that fits your preferences."

	Channel surf the inInternetor great websites, videos, pictures, games and more!
	Get personalized recommendations according to your interests
	Rate, review and share what you find
	Keep an online history of the things you've Stumbled
	No adware or spyware guaranteed

Works with both and .

Happy Stumbling!!

JILL

More Top 11 Scary Things to do in the Data Center on Halloween

2006-10-28T22:53:00.000-07:00

More Top 11 Scary Things to do in the Data Center on Halloween

What kind of spooky tricks could you come up for the data center this Halloween? Our readers scare up a few ideas.
Oct 27, 2006 - By NWC Readers

11) New IT Halloween Catchprhase: "Trick or Truncate!"

10) Set up phony BSOD's for the shift watching the Center that night.

9) Leave fake, bloodied fingers around the Data Center with sign that reads "DON'T TOUCH THE SERVER FAN!"

8) Make spiderwebs using 10 base T cables

7) Hold an exorcism to get rid of ghost spam and zombie PCs

6) Carve up some "Jack-o-Servers"

5)Inexpensive costume idea: A Post-it Ghost

4) Tell spooky ID-10-T support tales like, "The Ghost and the ANY key," or "The Haunted Retracting Cup Holder tray."

3) Announce to your team that all unused Halloween candy should be saved and brought in for use at company's Holiday party.

2) Play MP3 of first few notes of Bach's Tocatta and Fuge in D-Minor whenever CEO walks by

1) Attatch chains and shackles to everyone's desk; Hang a sign that reads "Abandon hope all ye who enter here."

Thanks to Greg Mayomek, Rob Trimarco, Tom Flynn, Hugh Laring, Bruce Woods. Plenty of other fun can be found at the Last Mile Online.

The most expensive TV in the world!!!!

2006-10-28T18:48:00.001-07:00

"October 28, 2006 On display for the first time at the recent IFA show in Germany and also in New York earlier this month at an exhibition promoting Italian craftsmanship was the Yalos Diamond, a EUR 100,000 (US$130,000 in round figures) television set by Neapolitan (from Naples) Keymat Industrie s.p.a. The 40 inch LCD TV has provision for 1080i and 720p high definition picture formats and is as technologically sound as is humanly possible with a picture contrast ratio of 1200:1. The really expensive bit is the workmanship, the design and the fact it’s plated in white gold and studded with 160 diamonds (4 gm) of diamonds."

This thing is NUTS! Who would by this?
Heres some pics so you can see it for your self!!

In order on the right...

*The TV

THE REMOTE if you can believe it!

*The close up of diamond STUDS!!

Global Warming Benifiting Oil Industry?

2006-10-28T18:25:00.000-07:00

Yup, you heard right, the one thing that may be destroying our environment, may indeed be sustaining our future. Global warming is allowing gas and oil companies to look further north for prospects, without having to use ice breakers.
Sea ice formerly blocked off the passage for 11 months of the year, but now that temperatures are rising, it's making the ice free season longer then ever.
According to the US Navy, the Northwest Passage can be available as a viable shipping route in as little as a few years!
The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet, it could rice by 7 to 12.5 degrees by the end of the century, making the Arctic Ocean ice free in summer by 2060!
" Since the U.S. Geological Survey announced that a quarter of the world's undiscovered oil and gas reserves are under the Arctic Ocean, companies are scrambling to stake claims. BP has an Alaskan offshore oil deposit called Northstar, and Statoil is developing the Snow White gas field in the frozen Barents Sea that is expected to generate $60 billion worth of LNG over the next 30 years. And Gazprom is expected to announce joint plans to drill up to 120 wells in the Shtokman field, 10 times the size of Snow White."

This could mean a well sustained oil supply for a lot longer than expected and also " "Knowing about the energy resources might be very interesting because there is the potential of development in the Arctic," she said. "That's not for us to decide, but it is the reality" (David Adam, London Guardian, April 18)."
The Arctic may become a new place to live!

Find Typos on Ebay to Score Deals!!

2006-10-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

I'm not really an ebay user, I have a paypal account which you can always generously donate money into, but besides that I'm way to broke for online shopping. http://www.typohound.com/
has a really cool idea, you put in words like "toshia" when the seller ment "toshiba", making you one of the first, if not only to search and bid on this product, finding yourself a deal. Imagine that, our spelling mistakes are now making money online! But for the regular ebay user, this seems to be a great idea..I'll try Dimonds, or corvetes, maybe I can get a great deal too! The site claims, and I quote:

"

What is Typo Hound?

Many eBay auctions contain typos in the title listing. For example, 'toshiba' may be spelt 'toshia'. This means that when someone searches for ''toshiba', the misspelled 'toshia' is not shown. Thus no bids are placed on the 'toshia' auction entry.

Typo Hound generates common misspelled variants of the keyword. This allows you to find the elusive 'toshia' listing. Since no one else can find the auction with eBay search to bid on it, you bag yourself a bargain!"

How does it work?

How does the online tool work?

Simply search for a term and follow the link below the search box to hunt for deals on eBay!

Typo Hound generates the following typos:

Character typed twice
Character omitted
Characters swapped
Key next to correct character hit
Key next to correct character and correct character hit

Thats what they are saying, sounds good, I think I'll try it too!

What was this guy THINKING?

2006-10-28T14:34:00.001-07:00

This looks very Dangerous...don't try this at home..click on the entry title for the link!

The LED MUSEUM??

2006-10-28T14:30:00.000-07:00

http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/

Not even going to touch this one...

I love this Picture

2006-10-28T14:18:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't jumped on the Mozilla, FireFox, Thunderbird, and many more options bandwagon..get on, its more secure and just way better...This is the first of a few posts I'm going to focus on about their products..this pic explains it all.

Email Abuse?

2006-10-28T13:49:00.000-07:00

I recently "stumbled accross a great site at http://www.emailabuse.org/
Because of the growing age of computer users, not everyone knows how to avoid and combat spam. Spam can be as silly as an advertisment, or as serious as someone posing as your bank requesting sensitive information. Not everyone knows how to handle these attacks, adn this site seems to be really informative!
It describes email abuse as " The use of electronic mail to advertise unethically, harass, annoy, or cause harm to the email recipient. Abuse can take the form of bulk email, threatening email, email sent with the intent to slow productivity of, or cause damage to, the recipient's system. It is a world wide problem and anyone with an email address is vulnerable. "

That just about sums it up! But what do you do in an age where it seems the only option is to impose high security levels on your inbox that prevent new friends and important emails you have requested if you happen to forget to add the address to your contact list!

There are a few tips I know if that help me:
1. Create a "fake" email address, if you are using it online to sign up for anything, or have to give it out for any reason, use that one. Go through it about once a week and clear out the spam. Reserve your REAL email address for friends and contacts, that way you don't have to build an iron wall around your inbox.

2. Never never give out sensitive information through email, any reputable company will not contact you this way, its not secure. If you have your doubts, contact the company directly to ask why they are sending you this email, chances are its a scam.

3. No one ever wins anything over email, they will call you, if you don't remember the name or company, contact over the phone and never release information

4. MY BIGGEST BEEF of all is FORWARDS! There are people out there in the business of collecting email addresses, and you and your friends forward along these tear jerker, cute pics, pleas for help (which are fake) and suburban warnings... after a few round abouts someone has a really extensive list of email addresses they can spam. Lets not forget some peoples emails also include personal work signatures with phone numbers ect. How dangerous is that? If you MUST pass on a forward PLEASE deleate all unrelevant information from the email and send it to one person, asking that they do not forward your email address on again. Sorry, big BEEF of mine!

5. If your email client has a spam blocker use it, if you see a spam message, mark it as spam, the domain name won't return.

I reccommend GMAIL as it has a great spam filter, catches %90 percent before it hit my inbox, and has an easy spam marker too, thunderbird makes a great Pop3 client also, you can download it from Mozilla.org, and it acts the same way as outlook or outlook express, only alot better :P

Last but not least, never hesitate to contact your ISP (internet service provider) or email provider (EX.GMAIL) they are always eager to help and can find out whos really behind these issues, and block their usage if necessary!

Coolest Pic Ever

2006-10-28T01:02:00.000-07:00

Deals all the way to Free!

2006-10-26T10:16:00.000-07:00

Well everyone likes free stuff, or a great site that points us in the right direction with out being tricked or spammed or having to sign up with 100 friends and their children. "No Brainer Deals from the "I'll fill out a form to get anything" freebie searcher, to the serious home builder, and has become one of my favorite new Google pages RSS feed additions. It seems to appeal to all audiences with gadgets and deals in between. I like the deals of the day section which is found here: http://www.nobrainerdeals.com/deals/
This site seems to be on top of technology and there are lots of great finds and awesome prices!
Sorry this is a short one, I'll update with more another time, I'm a bit sick today!

Jill

Expect a climatic 'wild ride,' study says

2006-10-20T23:42:00.000-07:00

According to CNN.COM, the world, especially the western United States, the Mediterranean region and Brazil, will suffer more droughts , heavy rainfalls and long heat waves due to Global warming
They also call for a few freezes, and longer growing seasons...

Personally the past winter in Northern Canada was very mild, we were very lucky, but this may be yet another symptom of whats to come.

"It's going to be a wild ride, especially for specific regions," said study lead author Claudia Tebaldi, a scientist at the federally funded academic research center.

Tebaldi pointed to the Western U.S., Mediterranean nations and Brazil as "hot spots" that will get extremes at their worst, according to the computer models.

And some places, such as the Pacific Northwest, are predicted to get a strange double whammy of longer dry spells punctuated by heavier rainfall.

As the world warms, there will be more rain likely in the tropical Pacific Ocean, and that will change the air flow for certain areas, much like El Nino weather oscillations now do, said study co-author Gerald Meehl, a top computer

modeler at the research center. Those changes will affect the U.S. West, Australia and Brazil, even though it's on South America's eastern coast.

For the Mediterranean, the issue has more to do with rainfall in the tropical Atlantic Ocean changing air currents, he said.

"Extreme events are the kinds of things that have the biggest impacts, not only on humans, but on mammals and ecosystems," Meehl said. The study, to be published in the December issue of the peer-reviewed journal Climatic Change, "gives us stronger and more compelling evidence that these changes in extremes are more likely."

This is not good news for already drought stricken areas, and the thing we need is more tropical storms and hurricanes after last year..!

he measurement of warm nights saw the biggest forecast changes. Every part of the globe is predicted to experience a tremendous increase in the number of nights during which the low temperature is extremely high. Those warm night temperatures that should happen only once every decade will likely occur at least every other year by the time we reach 2099, if not more frequently, Tebaldi said.

Warm nights are crucial because Chicago's 1995 heat wave demonstrated that after three straight hot nights, people start dying, Meehl said. However, heat wave deaths are decreasing in the United States because society has learned to adapt better, using air conditioning, noted University of Alabama at Huntsville atmospheric sciences professor John Christy. He is one of a minority of climate scientists who downplay the seriousness of global warming.

Similarly, the days when the temperature drops below freezing will plummet worldwide. That's not necessarily a good thing, because fewer frost days will likely bring dramatic change in wildlife, especially bug infestation, Tebaldi said.

"It's a disruption of the equilibrium that's been going for many centuries," Tebaldi said. But she noted that a lengthier growing season in general is good.

"This notion of the greening of the planet ... generally is a positive benefit," Christy said.

Christy, who did not participate in the study but acknowledges that global warming is real and man-made, said an increase in nighttime low temperatures makes much more sense than the rain-and-drought forecasts of the paper.

One of the larger changes in precipitation predicted is in the intensity of rain and snowfall. That means, Tebaldi said, "when it rains, it rains more" even if it doesn't rain as often.

Tebaldi's assessment jibes with the National Climatic Data Center's tracking of extreme events in the United States, said David Easterling, chief of the center's scientific services. Easterling's group has created a massive climate extreme index that measures the weather in America. Last year, the United States experienced the second most extreme year in 95 years; the worst year was in 1998."

Say what you want about global warming, I'm usually on the weather trend side, but either way, its looking worse, not better!!

Jill

Funny Tech pics invloving cats

2006-10-20T23:13:00.000-07:00

Wireless Issues?

2006-10-17T21:38:00.000-07:00

Wireless tips

With wireless Internet growing more and more in our homes, we are all starting to have issues with it. Now we have to remember this is not a dedicated connection, like a telephone or cable line, but a signal that travels through the air at a certain frequency or *channel* and things as small as a cell phone, TV, remote control, or carpet EMI could cause it to not work or drop. Basically if your ISP can get a clear signal into your home to your modem, the rest is your issue. Here are some things that can help.

1. Upgrade to XP, use the included software in XP to connect, not the one that comes with your card.

2. If you must use 98SE or up, make sure you have the most up to date drivers for your card, you would be surprised how many card come with outdated technology, remember it moves fast. Most wireless cares should come with free instillation support, or call your ISP for instructions, they may be able to help, maybe not. Worst case scenario, hook it up via the Ethernet cable, and get online and download new drivers or find the information first. That reminds me, make sure your computer CAN and has been connected via another means to the Internet before trying to hook up wireless, its better to find out before you've spent 7 hours on the phone with some guy in India (NOT that they don't know there stuff, communication is at times difficult!)

3. The placement of your router is KEY
-don't put it anywhere from any electrical devices..aka that speaker its sitting on, or the carpet, get that antenna as high into the air as possible for maximum coverage
-remember if you can't use a TV remote control through the walls, wireless will have a hard time too. Whats in between your PC and the router? A bathroom with ceramic tiles? Is it in the basement surrounded by cement? get it in a central location to your computers and play with it, location is key
-if need be you can pick up those wireless extenders, they are pretty sharp and work well
-Log into the firmware, (contact your ISP for instructions or router company) and change the channel..your cordless phone could be on the same frequency as your router.
- If your wired computer works fine, chances are its either your card, drivers for your card, or your router, it is going to cut out once and awhile, that's normal, but should reconnect asap when it does. When in doubt, look for the activity light on the card, if its not flashing, power off and on the computer and router for 30 seconds each... computer first, router second, and then try it, Anymore home networking wireless questions, let me know, I'm running a SS 6520 and it works great...

Speed Up Windows XP!

2006-10-16T21:39:00.000-07:00

Services You Can Disable

There are quite a few services you can disable from starting automatically.
This would be to speed up your boot time and free resources.
They are only suggestions so I suggestion you read the description of each one when you run Services
and that you turn them off one at a time.

Some possibilities are:

Alerter - Sends alert messages to specified users that are connected to the server computer.
Application Management - Allows software to tap directly into the Add/Remove Programs feature via the Windows Installer technology.
Background Intelligent Transfer Service - The Background Intelligent Transfer service is used by programs (such as Windows AutoUpdate) to download files by using spare bandwidth.
Clipbook - ClipBook permits you to cut and paste text and graphics over the network.
Error Reporting Service - Allows applications to send error reports to Microsoft in the event of an application fault.
Fast User Switching - Windows XP allows users to switch quickly between accounts, without requiring them to log off.
Help and Support - Allows the XP Built-in Help and Support Center to run.
IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service - You don't need this if you have other software to create CDs.
Indexing Service - Indexes contents and properties of files on local and remote computers; provides rapid access to files through flexible querying language.
IP SEC - Manages IP security policy and starts the ISAKMP/Oakley (IKE) and the IP security driver. If you are not on a domain, you likely don't need this running.
Messenger - Transmits net send and Alerter service messages between clients and servers. This is how a lot of pop-up windows start appearing on your desktop.
Net Logon - Supports pass-through authentication of account logon events for computers in a domain. If you are not on a domain, you don't need this running
Network DDE - Provides network transport and security for Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) for programs running on the same computer or on different computers.
NT LM Security Support Provider - Provides security to remote procedure call (RPC) programs that use transports other than named pipes.
Performance Logs and Alerts - Collects performance data from local or remote computers based on preconfigured schedule parameters, then writes the data to a log or triggers an alert. If you don't need to monitor your performance logs, then you don't need this service.
Portable Media Serial Number - Retrieves the serial number of any portable music player connected to your computer
QOS RSVP - Provides network signaling and local traffic control setup functionality for QoS-aware programs and control applets.
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager - Manages and controls Remote Assistance. If you are not using Remote Desktop you don't need this service.
Remote Registry - Enables remote users to modify registry settings on this computer.
Routing & Remote Access - Offers routing services to businesses in local area and wide area network environments. Allows dial-in access.
Secondary Login - Enables starting processes under alternate credentials. This is what allows you to run an application as another user.
Smart Card - Manages access to smart cards read by this computer.
Smart Card Helper - Enables support for legacy non-plug and play smart-card readers used by this computer.
SSDP Discovery Service - Enables discovery of UPnP devices on your home network.
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper - Enables support for NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) service and NetBIOS name resolution. This should not be needed in today's network environment.
Telnet - Enables a remote user to log on to this computer and run programs, and supports various TCP/IP Telnet clients.
Uninterruptible Power Supply Service - Manages an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) connected to the computer.
Universal Plug and Play Device Host - Provides support to host Universal Plug and Play devices
Upload Manager - Manages synchronous and asynchronous file transfers between clients and servers on the network.
Volume Shadow Copy Service - Manages and implements Volume Shadow Copies used for backup and other purposes.
Web Client - Enables Windows-based programs to create, access, and modify non-local files across the Internet.
Wireless Zero Configuration - Provides automatic configuration for the 802.11 adapters
WMI Performance Adapter - Provides performance library information from WMI HiPerf providers.

99 run commands for Windows XP

2006-10-16T19:49:00.000-07:00

99 run commands for windows XP

Some of these may work on 2000 also, and as I find more, I'll add them, feel free to comment on even more of them!!

Go to Start \ RUN and then type in any of these short cuts

OR get fancey with the windows key then Letter "R"

Accessibility Controls
access.cpl

Add Hardware Wizard
hdwwiz.cpl

Add/Remove Programs
appwiz.cpl

Administrative Tools
control admintools

Automatic Updates
wuaucpl.cpl

Bluetooth Transfer Wizard
fsquirt

Calculator
calc

Certificate Manager
certmgr.msc

Character Map
charmap

Check Disk Utility
chkdsk

Clipboard Viewer
clipbrd

Command Prompt
cmd

Component Services
dcomcnfg

Computer Management
compmgmt.msc

Date and Time Properties
timedate.cpl

DDE Shares
ddeshare

Device Manager
devmgmt.msc

Direct X Control Panel (If Installed)*
directx.cpl

Direct X Troubleshooter
dxdiag

Disk Cleanup Utility
cleanmgr

Disk Defragment
dfrg.msc

Disk Management
diskmgmt.msc

Disk Partition Manager
diskpart

Display Properties
control desktop

Display Properties
desk.cpl

Display Properties (w/Appearance Tab Preselected)
control color

Dr. Watson System Troubleshooting Utility
drwtsn32

Driver Verifier Utility
verifier

Event Viewer
eventvwr.msc

File Signature Verification Tool
sigverif

Findfast
findfast.cpl

Folders Properties
control folders

Fonts
control fonts

Fonts Folder
fonts

Free Cell Card Game
freecell

Game Controllers
joy.cpl

Group Policy Editor (XP Prof)
gpedit.msc

Hearts Card Game
mshearts

Iexpress Wizard
iexpress

Indexing Service
ciadv.msc

Internet Properties
inetcpl.cpl

IP Configuration (Display Connection Configuration)
ipconfig /all

IP Configuration (Display DNS Cache Contents)
ipconfig /displaydns

IP Configuration (Delete DNS Cache Contents)
ipconfig /flushdns

IP Configuration (Release All Connections)
ipconfig /release

IP Configuration (Renew All Connections)
ipconfig /renew

IP Configuration (Refreshes DHCP & Re-Registers DNS)
ipconfig /registerdns

IP Configuration (Display DHCP Class ID)
ipconfig /showclassid

IP Configuration (Modifies DHCP Class ID)
ipconfig /setclassid

ava Control Panel (If Installed)
jpicpl32.cpl

Java Control Panel (If Installed)
javaws

Keyboard Properties
control keyboard

Local Security Settings
secpol.msc

Local Users and Groups
lusrmgr.msc

Logs You Out Of Windows
logoff

Microsoft Chat
winchat

Minesweeper Game
winmine

Mouse Properties
control mouse

Mouse Properties
main.cpl

Network Connections
control netconnections

Network Connections
ncpa.cpl

Network Setup Wizard
netsetup.cpl

Notepad
notepad

Nview Desktop Manager (If Installed)
nvtuicpl.cpl

Object Packager
packager

ODBC Data Source Administrator
odbccp32.cpl

On Screen Keyboard
osk

Opens AC3 Filter (If Installed)
ac3filter.cpl

Password Properties
password.cpl

Performance Monitor
perfmon.msc

Performance Monitor
perfmon

Phone and Modem Options
telephon.cpl

Power Configuration
powercfg.cpl

Printers and Faxes
control printers

Printers Folder
printers

Private Character Editor
eudcedit

Quicktime (If Installed)
QuickTime.cpl

Regional Settings
intl.cpl

Registry Editor
regedit

Registry Editor
regedit32

Remote Desktop
mstsc

Removable Storage
ntmsmgr.msc

Removable Storage Operator Requests
ntmsoprq.msc

Resultant Set of Policy (XP Prof)
rsop.msc

Scanners and Cameras
sticpl.cpl

Scheduled Tasks
control schedtasks

Security Center
wscui.cpl

Services
services.msc

Shared Folders
fsmgmt.msc

Shuts Down Windows
shutdown

Sounds and Audio
mmsys.cpl

Spider Solitare Card Game
spider

SQL Client Configuration
cliconfg

System Configuration Editor
sysedit

System Configuration Utility
msconfig

System File Checker Utility (Scan Immediately)
sfc /scannow

System File Checker Utility (Scan Once At Next Boot)
sfc /scanonce

System File Checker Utility (Scan On Every Boot)
sfc /scanboot

System File Checker Utility (Return to Default Setting)
sfc /revert

System File Checker Utility (Purge File Cache)
sfc /purgecache

System File Checker Utility (Set Cache Size to size x)
sfc /cachesize=x

System Properties
sysdm.cpl

Task Manager
taskmgr

Telnet Client
telnet

User Account Management
nusrmgr.cpl

Utility Manager
utilman

Windows Firewall
firewall.cpl

Windows Magnifier
magnify

Windows Management Infrastructure
wmimgmt.msc

Windows System Security Tool
syskey

Windows Update Launches
wupdmgr

Windows XP Tour Wizard
tourstart

Wordpad
write

More advanced? Try this link for some more!

http://www.ss64.com/nt/

Search Engine Submission and more

2006-10-14T23:16:00.000-07:00

Well, as you all may know I'm trying to start a real blog. Not one of the many I've been keeping for years and years, but maybe one that will earn me some money and I can write about what interests me all the time, and I'd love to EARN a fan base. I say earn because it takes alot to make it on someones RSS list or to get someone to come back!
I've been going through the "important stuff", search engine submission programs, which once you download the free version tell you that they won't submit for free! Adsense, Stat counters, Labels, customizing my blog templates, learning HTML, it goes on. I feel my information and tech support experiance is valuable, and I love helping people, which I guess is my purpose. I hope to have an email support site in the future, with paypal hooked up, I have many dreams, and I love blogging. I guess I'm so tired of playing with this thing I'm just going to write about it for a bit!
If anyone has some tips on getting more sucess, and I'm researching believe me, as this is one of my side dreams, I'd love to hear from you via email in my profile or comment away!
The main drive here is I love technology and learning and sharing new ideas and things, and I hope to have that as a reason enough to be here, the rest will be hard work and dedication, but I'll enjoy it. I'm a "geek" at heart and this is my place!

ENJOY!

Jill

Google rumours confirmed!

2006-10-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

Well, ever since Google bought Writely, a web word processor earlier this year, I knew something was up... after just releasing an "Excel" type spreadsheet program a few months ago, its now got a great word processor to back it up. I love google, I have to admit, I live google, I wake up to it, I use gmail, I use everything google has come out with to at least try it, but this I love. My vision is indeed a world where all my software is available online and accessible via my google account. I live the Calender, they have integrated that really nicely I think.
The goal here, as the article states is to rival Microsoft, which has already had to go "Outlook live" due to this and may now have to start offering more. The perks? Lots!
*Online storage
*accessible from any computer with an Internet connection
*FREE
*easily merges with all other services and will continue to seamlessly as time progresses

Its also apparently, quality wise, quite reliable and comparable to Microsoft's products, with none of the price or PC based compatibility issues.

I'm not sure if any of you have heard of the old "I-opener". During one of my last jobs I was quite intrigued by this "old technology" and see it coming back again as the future. It basically had enough memory to access online resources and that's about it, no more. Cheap, and quick. In the future I wonder what the home PC will consist of.... a great graphics card, fast Internet connection, and hardware to SUPPORT Internet applications but that's about it. Imagine a world where there is no need to load anything, you log into your online OS, get your settings, and start using your online stored software, play your online based games, and check your WEB mail. If google keeps it up this will all be free to us. This kind of competition also forces big competitors to give the consumer a break, make some services available for free to us, offer quality programs that are compatible in this world at a cheaper price. In order to send a resume I should have purchased a 200$ ++ office suite to make sure my employers could open it. That does not help. Kudos for google to making this stuff everyday easier and more convenient...

This should rawl up the latest privacy protection acts, but if you aren't planning a terrorist attack I don't see how you should be concerned....

Here's the link to get there...you need a google account, sign up and start enjoying an example of Web 2.0 and all its new befits!! https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=writely&passive=true&continue=http%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2F<mpl=WR_tmp_2_lfty&nui=1

Jill

Microsoft to offer free Vista Upgrades?

2006-10-09T14:48:00.000-07:00

Well, for my first post I'm going to have to talk about this one. Recently I found an article that was posted on www.downloadsquad.com. I love this site, don't get me wrong, I have a RSS feed on my Google home page. I'd just like to throw some caution into the wind about this though.
The site claims that if you buy a new PC in the future, Microsoft will be offering free Vista upgrades if it has XP on it. This opinion may be true, but be careful!
I used to work for Microsoft Replacement Parts, we did honor a "Technology Guarantee" which stated that if a RETAIL BOXED COPY was purchased within 6 months of a newer technology being released, we would honour an upgrade at no fee to the consumer. This was Microsoft's rule, and this is legit.
Now here's the clincher, and the article does state that they are working on this with partners. Most computers purchased with a pre-installed operating system carries what is called an OEM copy. What this means is that Dell for example, has purchased a bulk license at a discounted price from Microsoft for windows XP. Now before this copy goes on your new PC it is loaded with your PC SPECIFIC software as well as the OS. Because this is no longer a full retail version, all support in Microsoft's eyes is referred back to the Vendor, ex Dell. These copy's are cheaper to the consumer and MUST be included with hardware. Sometimes, its sad to see, these copy's are sold on popular websites with, say, a keyboard, technically a piece of hardware. The issue is when it comes to bulk licenses, as the article stated, when you purchased a new PC with the OS already on, 99.9 percent of the time its going to be OEM. Therefore is Dell for example, going to carry on this price of upgrading and honouring this new Vista operating system to all its customers. This would be very very costly to them. You can't just install a new operating system on your computer and expect things to go smoothly, I've made that mistake. Where are all the drivers for things such as a network card or a wireless card. All your pre-installed settings are going to have to be reconfigured, this is easy for a person well seasoned with computers, to backup all these things first, but for the average computer user, you are going to get a severe headache and end up taking your PC to a tech for alot more money then a free upgrade. You see that CD you got with your new PC has all that information on it already, and the OS has been tuned for your computer with settings already in place. Its been modified. Its not a full version anymore. Microsoft can't help you here, they don't have the additional software to install for you, and I'm not sure that these vendors are going to take on the responsibility of reconfiguring all of your computers for a new operating system. Free support is not going to be free anymore, its going to cost alot more money, where does this cost come from?
SO, to save your butt:

*Contact the vendor before purchasing your machine to check with them whats going to happen if and when you want to upgrade, also be sure your new PC IS Vista ready

*Home Builders- Buy the full version, make sure its Retail, comes in a box, and has all the necessary product keys and windows stickers...It'll save you hassle in the future, and Microsoft, will honour their guarantee to you at least, yours is retail.

*Consumers, if you buy a new PC ask that a full version be installed NOT OEM, then you are OK, Microsoft, not the partner, will honour their agreement.

*If you are buying on EBAY, or other places, read the small print and do your research, if your OS CD is not the standard price, chances are you are not getting the boxed copy. Anything under 100 dollars for the newest version is very sketchy, and probably is not legit. You probably won't be eligible in the future.

Another note about this, and I"m very passionate as I was very upset when I couldn't offer free support, replacement Cd's at no cost or anything else, when this happened, is that this isn't just Operating Systems. Your keyboards, on the product ID, may be OEM, and your Mice also. Media centre additions, are created by vendors, just endorsed my Microsoft. BE CAREFUL if you want to buy an expensive product and expect Microsoft to repair it, or replace it, that its actually their product!

To Find product Id's or other relevant information to see if you have legit copies:
On your operating system, right click on my computer and go to properties, the second set of numbers will indicate whether you have a legit retail bought copy or a bulk license including OEM...if it says OEM, its OEM. On keyboards and mice and other peripherals, if you flip them upside down, they will have a PID, again the second set of numbers indicate how the license or product was purchased from Microsoft. If it says OEM, that's what it is, you'd better call Dell.

This may be overkill but I have seen way to many cases where consumers have had to spend alot more money then they should have because they were tricked, or misrepresented in their purchase. In the end Microsoft will get the bad name, because the online vendor for example, or seller, offers NO "free support" or guarantees.

Do your research...and happy computer shopping!

Welcome!!

2006-10-09T14:24:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm an internet junkie, I download everything, try out everything, read about everything through all the popular sites and now I figure, I'm going to write about it too. Why not. I've got alot of advice, lots to say about new things, and I love technology and computers. I don't profess to be an expert, just someone really interested in too much information! I think that would be called "Geek" and I guess I'm proud of it. Stay tuned for all my opinions, the latest software I've tried, and things I've stumbled upon through my surfing. I hope you check up often, who knows, maybe I'll be good at this and someday make it on somebodys book mark list! Thanks for reading!

Jill