Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on November 21, 2006 by CyberNet.

Time Saving Tuesday

AutoHotkey is a scripting language that is used by people all around the world. You can automate a ton of different tasks in no time at all and the software you need is completely free. What’s even better is that you can compile your script into an executable file so that other people can use it without needing to download the software themselves.

Before you go and start creating your own scripts there are already several available. One site in particular that has a huge list available is DonationCoder.com. Yes, the list is enormous so I’ll point out some of the most useful ones.

• ZoneSize – You can create “zones” that will automatically resize a window when it is dragged into the zone.
   
• IPUpload – Upload your IP address to a specified FTP server. It will help you find the IP address of your house if it is constantly changing.
• LabelControl – If you hate using the mouse this will surely come in handy. This will label the various buttons in a window with a number when you press the Ctrl key. Then, while holding down the Ctrl key you press the corresponding number to select that option.
  
• DimSaver – This is an AutoHotkey script but it is in the form of a screensaver. It will dim your screen instead of displaying a standard screensaver and it has separate daytime/nightime darkness levels.
• ShiftOff – This will turn off the CapsLock key if you press the Shift key in conjunction with another key.
• FadingTaskbar – This is a cool idea because it will fade the taskbar out when you’re mouse isn’t over it. I tried it in Vista and it made my taskbar disappear…so I wouldn’t try it on Vista if I was you.
  
• HideDesktop – When your mouse isn’t on the desktop all of the icons will be hidden.
  
• TransOther – Make all of the windows transparent except for the active one.
  
• ProcessGuard – Monitor a process’s memory usage and CPU usage for a certain condition. It will then notify you if that condition is met (easy way to watch for Firefox memory leaks).
  
• TicTocTitle – Most people don’t want to have their taskbar autohide because they constantly look at the clock. No problem! Put it in the titlebar of your window using TicTocTitle.
  

I’ve only begun to touch on the scripts that are available at DonationCoder.com so make sure you go and check it out. There are many more interesting ones but to my disappointment several of them don’t work properly in Vista.

You will probably just want to download the executable file to try some of the programs out (there is nothing to install with them) but the scripts are also supplied if you want to try and add some more features or try and merge a few of the scripts together. That’s why AutoHotkey is so great…the power is in your hands!

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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This article was written on July 04, 2008 by CyberNet.

Fun Friday

Back in November last year, we had some fun looking at some pretty dumb laws from around the United States. We decided to revisit the topic because there are so many more crazy laws out there. Once again, you won’t believe some of the funny, crazy, not to mention dumb laws that are found around the Country (an actually, around the World). Just keep in mind that some of these are really old and aren’t enforced anymore. At one point or another though, they were laws.

Alabama

• Dominoes may not be played on Sunday
• You must have windshield wipers on your car

Alaska

• No one may tie their pet dog to the roof of a car (City law in Anchorage)
• It is considered an offense to feed alcoholic beverages to a moose (City law in Fairbanks)

Arizona

• There is a possible 25 years in prison for cutting down a cactus.
• One must be 18 years old to buy spray paint (City law in Tempe)

Arkansas

• Alligators may not be kept in bathtubs
• Honking one’s car horn at a sandwich shop after 9 PM is against the law (City Law in Little Rock)

California

• No vehicle without a driver may exceed 60 miles per hour
• Animals are banned from mating publicly within 1,500 feet of a tavern, school, or place of worship

Colorado

• It is illegal to ride a horse while under the influence
• One may not mutilate a rock in a state park

Connecticut

• It is illegal to dispose of used razor blades
• You can be stopped by the police for biking over 65 miles per hour

Delaware

• One may not whisper in church (Rehoboth Beach City Law)
• No person shall pretend to sleep on a bench on the boardwalk (Rehoboth Beach City Law)

Florida

• It is illegal to sing in a public place while attired in a swimsuit
• Men may not be seen publicly in any kind of strapless gown

Georgia

• Signs are required to be written in English
• Members of the state assembly cannot be ticketed for speeding while the state assembly is in session

Hawaii

• Billboards are outlawed
• Coins are not allowed to be placed in one’s ears

Idaho

• Persons may not camp out on sidewalks in the city (City law of Eagle)
• A person may not be seen in public without a smile on their face (City law of Pocatello)

Illinois

• Law forbids eating in a place that is on fire (City law of Chicago)
• If one wishes to plant new sod in his or her yard in the summer months, that person may not use the city’s water to water it (City law of Cyrstal Lake)

Indiana

• It is against the law to pass a horse on the street
• Baths may not be taken between the months of October and March

Iowa

• Kisses may last for no more than five minutes
• Tanning bed facilities must warn of the risk of getting a sunburn

Kansas

• No one may catch fish with his bare hands
• Rabbits may not be shot from motorboats

Kentucky

• Throwing eggs at a public speaker could result in up to one year in prison
• A woman may not buy a hat without her husband’s permission (City law in Owensboro)

Louisiana

• Fake wrestling matches are prohibited
• It is a $500 fine to instruct a pizza delivery man to deliver a pizza to your friend without them knowing

Maine

• It is illegal to park in front of Dunkin Donuts (City law in South Berwick)
• No person may roller skate on a sidewalk (City of Biddeford)

Maryland

• It is illegal to take a lion to the movies (City law in Baltimore)
• It is a park rule violation to be in a public park with a sleeveless shirt (City law in Baltimore)

Massachusetts

• It is illegal to give beer to hospital patients
• It is illegal to go to bed without first having a full bath

Michigan

• A woman isn’t allowed to cut her own hair without her husband’s permission
• You may not swear in front of women and children

Minnesota

• It is illegal to sleep naked
• Citizens may not enter Wisconsin with a chicken on their head

Mississippi

• It is illegal to teach others what polygamy is
• Private citizens may personally arrest any person that disturbs a church service

Missouri

• Frightening a baby is in violation of the law (City law in Mole)
• You can not have an antenna exposed outside of your house yet you can have a 25′ satellite dish

Montana

• It is a felony for a wife to open her husband’s mail
• One may not pretend to abuse an animal in the presence of a minor

Nebraska

• It is illegal for a mother to give her daughter a perm without a state license
• It is illegal for bar owners to sell beer unless they are simultaneously brewing a kettle of soup

Nevada

• It is illegal to lie down on the sidewalk (City law in Reno)
• Benches may not be placed in the middle of any street (City of Reno)

New Hampshire

• It is illegal to pick seaweed up off the beach
• You may not run machinery on Sundays

New Jersey

• Handcuffs may not be sold to minors
• You cannot pump your own gas (this one is still true!)

New Mexico

• You may not carry a lunchbox down Main Street (City Law in Las Cruces)
• Hunting is prohibited in Mountain View Cemetery (City of Deming)

New York

• A fine of $25 can be levied for flirting
• Slippers are not to be worn after 10:00 PM

North Carolina

• It’s against the law to sing off key
• Elephants may not be used to plow cotton fields

North Dakota

• Beer and pretzels can’t be served at the same time in any bar or restaurant
• It is illegal to lie down and fall asleep with your shoes on

Ohio

• Participating or conducting a duel is prohibited
• No one may be arrested on Sunday or on the Fourth of July

Oklahoma

• It is against the law to read a comic book while operating a motor vehicle
• Oklahoma will not tolerate anyone taking a bite out of another’s hamburger

Oregon

• A door on a car may not be left open longer than is necessary
• One may not test their physical endurance while driving a car on a highway

Pennsylvania

• You may not sing in the bathtub
• Motorized vehicles are not to be sold on Sundays

Rhode Island

• Professional sports, except ice polo and hockey, must obtain a license to play games on Sunday
• Ropes may not be strung across a highway

South Carolina

• A railroad may not remove itself from a town of more than five hundred people
• Railroad companies may be held liable in some instances for scaring horses

South Dakota

• No horses are allowed into Fountain Inn unless they are wearing pants
• If there are more than 5 Native Americans on your property, you may shoot them

Tennessee

• “Crimes against nature” are prohibited
• Hollow logs may not be sold

Texas

• It is illegal to sell ones eyes
• One must acknowledge a supreme being before being able to hold public office

Utah

• A husband is responsible for every criminal act committed by his wife while she is in his presence.
• It is against the law to fish from horseback

Vermont

• It is illegal to deny the existence of God
• All residents shall bathe every Saturday night

Virginia

• It is illegal to tickle women
• Children are not to go trick-or-treating on Halloween

Washington

• No person may walk about in public if he or she has the common cold
• People may not buy a mattress on Sunday

West Virginia

• It is illegal to snooze on a train
• A person may not hold public office if he or she has ever participated in a duel

Wisconsin

• One may not camp in a wagon on any public highway or risk a fine of up to ten dollars
• Livestock have the right-of-way on public roads

Wyoming

• Junk dealers may not make any business transactions with drunk persons
• Any person who fails to close a fence is subject to a fine of up to seven hundred dollars

Source

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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This article was written on December 04, 2007 by CyberNet.

Time Saving Tuesday

Do you find Windows starting up slow because of all the applications that are set to automatically run at the beginning? If you consult anyone tech savvy they will say to cut back on the number of applications that start with your computer, but that’s hard for some people to do. Most of the time those programs serve a purpose, and people want them to be running when they need them.

If you delete the items you’ll probably end up manually starting them later on. So how about we delay the startup programs for a few minutes until after Windows has had time to run all of your most important applications? That’s where the free Startup Delayer comes into play (for Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP/Vista). With it you can designate which applications you want to start with Windows, and you can associate a delay for each one. For example, your instant messenger programs probably aren’t of immediate importance so why not have them start a few minutes after Windows has done its thing?

Lets take a look at how to make Startup Delayer work for you…

–Adding Startup Items–

The heart and soul of Startup Delayer is the central management screen. That’s where you can specify what programs you want to startup, assign each one a delay in seconds, and move them around so that each app starts in the order that you want it to.

Click to Enlarge

You would think that being able to assign a delay to a startup program is enough, but Startup Delayer does even more than that. You can also choose the process priority (low, below normal, normal, above normal, high, or realtime) and the initial window size (maximized, minimized, hidden, or normal) of each application.

–Import Startup Items–

Sure you could sit there manually adding all of the programs to Startup Delayer, but why go through the hassle? In the File menu there is an import option which will list all of the existing applications that are scheduled to startup with Windows. Check the boxes of the apps that you want Startup Delayer to handle, and click the Import button. Startup Delayer will import them, and it will remove the options from the Windows Registry/Startup folder to ensure that there are no duplicates!

Tip: There is a Create Backup button at the bottom that I highly suggest you use before importing any of the entries. This will backup all of your startup entries in case you decide to revert back to the traditional startup method.

–Make Your Sequence Start with Windows–

Entering in startup entries isn’t enough though. After you get the order and delays of your applications just right you’ll need to tell Windows to run your sequence when it starts up. Here’s what you have to do (see the corresponding diagram below):

1. Save the sequence to your computer. It doesn’t really matter where you save it just as long as it will always be accessible (tip: don’t put it on a USB drive).
2. Choose the display method (make sure to press the Save button if you make changes):
• This Window – At startup it shows the same management screen that you use to configure the startup entries.
• Report – At startup it shows a small window that lists which programs have already been initiated and which ones still need to run (screenshot in the next section)
• None – At startup no information is shown on the progress of your startup items. It’s all done “behind-the-scenes”.
3. Click the Execute with Windows link and find the file that you saved in Step 1. After completing this step your sequence will be scheduled to start with Windows.

–Enjoy the Fruits of Your Labor–

So you have all of that done? There is nothing left to do other than enjoy the faster startup of Windows! Here’s what the report view looks like when starting the computer:

Ahh, it’s nice being able to fully control and delay startup programs!

Download Startup Delayer

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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This article was written on October 23, 2008 by CyberNet.

Tutorial Thursday

I’ve always enjoyed listening to Internet radio stations because I don’t have to worry about putting together my own playlists of music. iTunes has a decent selection of these radio stations available, but Apple has full control over what appears in that section of the media player. Fortunately that doesn’t mean you can’t add some of your own favorite radio streams to iTunes.

There are two caveats to the trick I’m about to show you:

• The radio streams that get added to iTunes won’t appear in the Radio section. Instead they’ll be showing up under the Playlist section, which may or may not be something that you want. Personally I like not having to go to the Radio section because it can be time consuming trying to find a particular radio station. This method will give you fast and easy access to your favorite stations.
• In order to add online radio stations to iTunes the stream will need to be available in a playlist (.PLS) format.

This makes Shoutcast a perfect example since they use the PLS format for their radio streams. Here are the needed instructions for setting up one of those streams in iTunes:

1. Visit Shoutcast.com and find a radio station you want to add to iTunes.
2. Right-click on the Tune In button, and choose the option to save the link/file to your computer.
   
3. Now you should have a .PLS file saved somewhere on your computer. Find the location of the file, and drag it into the sidebar in iTunes.
   
4. The radio station station should now appear under the Playlist section, and it can be renamed to anything you like. To start enjoying the streaming music all you have to do to is select the playlist that was just added, and choose from one of the available connections.
   

See, it’s easy. The only trick is finding the radio stations that are available in playlist (.PLS) format. Shoutcast is one of the only sites I know of with a vast directory of stations in this format, but I’m sure some of you probably know a few as well. Let us know about any of these sites in the comments, and enjoy listening to your favorite radio stations in iTunes!

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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This article was written on October 02, 2007 by CyberNet.

Time Saving Tuesday

Applications are pretty much the core reason that computers are useful, and I’ve seen people that have literally hundreds of different programs installed. I’m not sure how they make it through each day with the super-sized Start Menu that they normally have, but I’m guessing that they use some sort of efficient application launcher.

Today we’re going to bring you our top 10 free application launchers, and we’ll throw two gadgets/widgets into the mix as well. We’ve grouped the application launchers into various categories based upon their type: docks, menus, find-as-you-type, and then the gadgets/widgets.

–Docks–

There are some Mac features that applications try to bring over to the Windows side, and one of the most common types are clones of Apple’s Dock. Here are a few apps that will give you the Mac OS X dock feel while in Windows:

• ObjectDock [Homepage] [Our Full Review]
  This is one of my favorite docks, and the big reason for that is the new weather widget that they’ve incorporated into the latest version. There are both free and paid versions available, and the free version actually does more than the other free alternatives listed below. Vista users can even see live previews of any windows displayed in the dock.
  
• RocketDock [Homepage] [Our Full Review]
  This is a freeware-only dock that is well updated, and supports many of the same features as ObjectDock. Vista users can also take advantage of live previews for windows that have been minimized to the dock.
  
• RKLaucher [Homepage] [Our Full Review]
  This launcher isn’t updated very frequently, but it is well known for being light weight. Out of all the options I would say that this one is the best performance.
   

–Menus–

Menu access to your programs is probably among the most popular launchers because of how familiar users are with menu systems. We managed to scrounge up four of the best application launchers that use a menu-like structure for listing out your shortcuts.

• 8Start [Homepage] [Our Full Review]
  This is one of my favorite application launchers because it is extremely powerful. The best part is that it always opens the menu of programs where your mouse is located, so the necessary mouse movement is kept to a minimum. That may not sound like a big deal, but if you have a high-resolution monitor it can make a big difference.
  
• SC-QuickStart [Homepage]
  This is one of the lighter application launchers, and it primarily resides in your System Tray. You can also assign hotkeys to each of the applications to make launching your favorite programs even faster.
  
• JetStart [Homepage]
  This comes in both free and paid flavors, but the free version will be more than suitable for most people. It has several different ways to display your shortcuts, but my favorite is the customizable menu that’s displayed when you hover over the Start Menu (clicking on the Start Menu will still serve the normal purpose).
  
• SpeedyStart [Homepage] – Thanks to “Chance” for the tip!
  This is a tiny little program that lets you customize the right-click menu attached to the Start Menu. Access to your favorite apps has never been so quick!
  

–Find As You Type–

The find-as-you-type application launchers have really been taking off lately. They offer what I believe to be the fastest way to find what you’re looking for, and are typically very customizable.

• Find and Run Robot [Homepage]
  Pressing just a single key will launch the search utility, and then you can immediately start typing the name of the program or file that you’re looking for. When the item shows up in the list just hit the corresponding number on your keyboard’s number pad.
  
• Launchy [Homepage] [Our Full Review]
  This is the most popular “find-as-you-type” application launcher available. It has a slick yet simple interface, and there are several powerful plugins to extend the built-in functionality.
  
• Colibri [Homepage]
  I just recently came across this program, and it’s not only intuitive but it looks good, too. It seems to lack some of the power the other two options have, but if looks could kill…
  

–Widgets & Gadgets–

Since gadgets and widgets are blanketing the world of computers I didn’t think I could make it through this post without mentioning a few gadgetized application launchers.

• Vista Sidebar [Homepage]
  This is a sidebar widget for Vista, and you can add shortcuts to nearly anything (including folders).
  
• Yahoo! Widget Engine [Homepage]
  This makes use of the cross-platform Yahoo! Widget engine, and it can be setup to launch all of your favorite programs. It utilizes user-created categories to organize the shortcuts.
  

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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