Jul 01

CyberNotes: HTML Signatures in Apple Mail

Posted in: CyberNotes, Email, Software, Tips and Tricks, Today's Chili

This article was written on May 01, 2008 by CyberNet.

CyberNotes
Tutorial Thursday

Now that I’m up and running on my Mac I decided to give the Apple Mail program a shot. It’s the built-in email solution that is bundled with Mac OS X, and also lets you do things like leave notes to yourself or manage a todo list. One thing that I quickly noticed was that it doesn’t directly include support for HTML signatures.

It’s kind of always boggled my mind as to why these email applications don’t support HTML signatures out-of-the-box. I don’t think that they need to make it all fancy, but they could at least let users enter a snippet of HTML code to use as a signature. I guess I was spoiled by Outlook’s rich text signature editor, and can’t help but compare Apple Mail’s signature abilities to it. Heck, even Mozilla’s Thunderbird lets you specify an HTML file that can then be used as a signature.

Anyhow, there is a method available for those of you who want to get an HTML signature in Apple Mail. It takes a little bit of work, but once it’s done you should be happy with the results.

  1. The first thing that you’ll want to do is create an HTML file that contains the code for your signature. You can do this using a fancy program like Dreamweaver, or something simple like Apple’s TextEdit. Preview your signature in a web browser to ensure it’s what you want, but you’ll be able to go back and make changes later if you want (it’s just not that easy to make changes).
  2. When you create a text signature in Apple Mail it doesn’t store it as an HTML file. Instead it uses a file storage type specific to Safari called WebArchive. To get around this you can open your signature in Safari, and go to File -> Save As. You’ll now be able to save your signature in the necessary WebArchive format.
    Safari.png
  3. Open Apple Mail’s preferences, and switch over to the Signatures tab. Click the plus sign located near the bottom to create a new signature, give it any name you would like (you can easily change this at any time), and put something in the content box:
    Signatures.png
  4. You’re almost there! Now what we have to do is replace our awesome HTML signature with the temporary place holder form the previous step. To do this copy the WebArchive file from Step 2, and paste it into the ~/Library/Mail/Signatures folder (note: the tilde represents your user folder). See that other WebArchive file with the obnoxiously long name consisting of letters, numbers, and hypens? Just rename your signature file to match that super long name and you’re all set:
    Signatures-2.png
  5. If you already have Apple Mail running you’ll need to restart it before seeing the changes. Then when you go to compose a message the new signature should automatically be attached. If you need to make changes you’ll essentially need to start back over at Step 1.

I’ve been asked several times what the point of using an HTML signature is since so many email services block them. There is typically some confusion in that area because email services don’t block HTML… they just block images, and even still the viewer can normally enable them. That means without any trouble you are able to use well formatted hyperlinks, style the text, and much more without using images. However, spare us all from turning your signature into a mini MySpace page. And no, everyone doesn’t love a banner of animated smiley faces. ;)

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Jun 18

CyberNotes: Add Separators to Mac OS X Leopard Dock

Posted in: CyberNotes, Hacks, Mac, Screenshots, Software, Tips and Tricks, Today's Chili

This article was written on July 10, 2008 by CyberNet.

CyberNotes
Tutorial Thursday

arrow Mac Mac only arrow
One of the first things that I did when I got my new (and first) Mac is I started customizing different aspects of the Dock. There’s actually a decent number of things that you can customize with the Dock by default, and it didn’t take long for me to start finding out some tricks here and there. A favorite of mine would be the drag-to-resize feature when clicking on the application/document separator. And then Lifehacker showed how I could add recent items to the Dock.

One thing that Apple failed to include was a way to separate your icons into groups, which can make it a little easier to find your applications. I figured there had to be a way to do this, and after a little Google searching I came across this article by Mac OS X Hints. In the end you can add as many separators as you would like on either side of the Dock. It’s really just an blank gap, but they work well at serving as a separators.

mac leopard spacers.png

How do you do this? There are actually two different ways that I’m going to show you, and I’ll leave it up to you to decide which one you’d like to use. You must be running Mac OS X Leopard for this to work though.

–SuperDocker (Homepage)–

The SuperDocker application is probably the easiest option for adding separators to the Leopard Dock. After you download and run the application you’ll want to look for the “Add a separator” option on the Dock tab:

mac separators leopard.png

From there you just need to decide which side you would like the separator to appear on. Choosing the Application zone will place the separator on the left side of the Dock, and choosing the Documents zone puts the separator on the right side. Every time you click one of those buttons you’ll see your Dock restart itself so that the new separators appear.

–The Terminal–

Power users who like to get their hands a little bit dirty will probably prefer to use the terminal. That way the need for yet another third-party application on your computer is eliminated. Here are the three commands that you’ll need to use:

  1. To add a separator to the left side of the dock (the application side) enter this into the terminal:
     

    defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array-add '{tile-data={}; tile-type="spacer-tile";}'
     

    Repeat this step for each separator you would like, and make sure to press Enter each time to execute the command.

  2. To add a separator to the right side of the dock (the document side) enter this into the terminal:
     

    defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-others -array-add '{tile-data={}; tile-type="spacer-tile";}'
     

    Repeat this step for each separator you would like, and make sure to press Enter each time to execute the command.

  3. Now you need to reset the Dock, which can be done by entering this into the terminal:
    killall Dock

Here’s a screenshot from when I executed each of the steps listed above:

mac dock separator terminal-1.jpg

–Removing the Separators–

If you ever decide that you don’t want the separator(s) anymore there are two fast ways to get rid of them. Just like most other Dock items you can drag each one off the Dock to have them removed, or you can Ctrl+Click (a.k.a. right-click) on them and select the remove option.

–Overview–

Maybe in the next version of Mac OS X Apple will think to add some sort of separation option to the Dock, but I wouldn’t hold my breath for that. At least there are tricks like this one that are able to separate the dozens of icons hosted in your Dock.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Jun 13

CyberNotes: Extensions that Don’t Work with Firefox 3

Posted in: CyberNotes, Firefox 3, Firefox Extensions, Software, Tips and Tricks, Today's Chili

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

CyberNotes
Web Browser Wednesday

With the Firefox 3 release right around the corner I thought this would be a good time to look over the extensions available, and see which ones haven’t been updated. There’s actually a descent amount that still need to be updated before they will work with the final release, but if you look around many have pre-release versions that they are getting ready to roll out.

So what we’ve got for you today are instructions on downloading/installing extensions that aren’t officially compatible, a list of extensions that currently have Beta versions that work with Firefox 3, and finally a few extensions that already appear to be extinct. The lists are by no means comprehensive, but I also figured that everyone can chime in below with your own findings.

–Forcing Compatibility–

Using the trick we’re about to show you it’s possible to bypass any compatibility checking, which means you’ll be able to install (not necessarily run) any extension. This is obviously not recommended for everyone, and you should only use this as a last-ditch effort.

  1. In the Address Bar type about:config followed by the Enter key. Continue through the warning message if it’s shown.
  2. Right-click in the main area, and select New -> Boolean
    firefox new boolean.png
  3. Enter extensions.checkCompatibility into the box that appears, and click the OK button.
    firefox checkcompatibility.png
  4. Then choose false in the next window.
  5. Now you can install any extension, but remember that they are not guaranteed to work. I’ve seemed to have pretty good results with this though.

One problem that you might notice is that when you go to install an extension that’s not compatible with your version of Firefox the “Add to Firefox” button will be grayed out. This is quickly remedied by going to the “All Versions” page, and you’ll find a link to that following the description of the add-on:

firefox all versions.png

Once on that page you can download the most recent version of the add-on without the site checking what version of Firefox you’re running, but you’ll need to follow the steps outlined above before being able to actually install it.

–Currently in Development–

I know that some of you are waiting for certain extensions to get upgraded before you’ll make the jump to Firefox 3, and so I’ve assembled a list of eight rather popular ones that will definitely have new versions coming out. Each of these already have a pre-release version publicly available, which may persuade you to make the switch a little early. ;)

  • Sage [Homepage]
    This is the much beloved RSS feed reader, but it hasn’t been updated since January 2007. Someone else has begun reworking it to make it play nice with Firefox 3, and the new version can be downloaded here.
  • FEBE [Homepage]
    You can use this to backup your extensions, and for some people it’s a rather critical extension to have. They are currently working on the next milestone release, and the Beta version is available which works with Firefox 3.
  • FireFTP [Homepage]
    Ever want to have an FTP client in your browser? With FireFTP you can, but you’ll need to download the preview release if you want Firefox 3 compatibility.
  • FoxyTunes [Homepage]
    Controlling your media player has never been so easy, but Firefox 3 users were starting to get worried that this add-on wasn’t going to be updated. Despite not having released a new version in almost a year they do have FoxyTunes 3 Beta publicly available, which includes Firefox 3 support.
  • Firebug [Homepage]
    Most web developers absolutely love this extension, and the good news is that a version for Firefox 3 is right around the corner. If you’re a bit anxious you can hop on over and download Firebug 1.2 Beta.
  • ColorfulTabs [Homepage]
    Make your tabs more identifiable with this extension, and Firefox 3 users will find a Beta version here.
  • Tab Mix Plus [Homepage]
    It’s safe to say that this is the all-in-one solution for anything you want to do with tabs. And work for a Firefox 3 version is always going on.
  • Smart Bookmarks Bar [Homepage]
    Save some room on the Bookmarks toolbar by only showing icons. The latest release, available from here, is compatible with Firefox 3.

–All Good Things Must Come to an End–

There are a handful of extensions that I have come across which you shouldn’t hold out too much hope for. These three look like they will become extinct:

  • VideoDownloader [Homepage]
    With this extension you can download videos from 60+ movie sites, but it has been kicked back into the “experimental” stage (meaning you’ll need a Mozilla account to download it) even though it has an astounding 13 million downloads. It would likely be one of the most downloaded extensions right now, but it hasn’t seen an update in nearly 2 years. So don’t get your hopes up for this one.
  • MinimizeToTray [Homepage]
    A lot of people are going to be disappointed to hear that the MinimizeToTray extension doesn’t work with Firefox 3, and it doesn’t look like there are any plans to fix it. The last update was in October 2006 just in time for Firefox 2, and there’s been no mention of a new version being worked on. Yikes!
  • Tab Groups [Homepage]
    This project didn’t last very long, and that’s disappointing because it’s an extension that I really enjoyed. It’s only had one release, and there’s no sign that the developer is still working on it.

–Overview–

And now we turn the keyboard over to you, our trusty readers. Let us know in the comments below which extensions you’re holding out for, and which ones have pre-release versions that you’ve been tinkering with.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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May 19

CyberNotes: System Restore vs. Last Known Good Configuration

Posted in: CyberNotes, Features, Software, Tips and Tricks, Today's Chili, Windows

This article was written on December 11, 2007 by CyberNet.

CyberNotes
Time Saving Tuesday

I’m sure many of you have seen the Last Known Good Configuration option at some point or another when starting Windows, but do you actually know what it does? It says that it will use “your most recent settings that worked,” but that could mean a variety of things.

Then there is the Windows System Restore, which by the name would almost make people assume it does something similar to the Last Known Good Configuration, but in reality they are pretty different. Lets see how the two of them differ, and when you would want to use each of them.

–Last Known Good Configuration–

Each time you successfully startup your computer, Windows saves any system-related settings to the Windows Registry. Some of the information that is written to the Registry is in regards to device drivers and services that are used by Windows.

When you choose to use the Last Known Good Configuration mode all of the settings contained within the HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet Registry key will be restored to the last state when you’re computer booted up successfully. This will not modify any files, but it will be able to point the system back to older drivers, assuming that they are still accessible on the machine.

Using the Last Known Good Configuration…

  1. Start your computer.
  2. When you see the “Please select the operating system to start” message, press the F8 key.
  3. When the Windows Advanced Options menu appears, use the ARROW keys to select Last Known Good Configuration (your most recent settings that worked), and then press ENTER.

Last Known Good Configuration

Use Last Known Good Configuration if…

  • The last time you started Windows you didn’t have any issues.
  • You install a new device driver, restart Windows, and the computer will no longer boot. By reverting back to the Last Known Good Configuration you will restore the settings so that they point back to the old driver.
  • You disable a driver that turns out to be more critical to the operation of Windows. By reverting back to the Last Known Good Configuration you will restore the settings back to when the driver was still enabled.

DON’T Use Last Known Good Configuration if…

  • Windows won’t boot because you deleted some system files.
  • You copy a new driver over top of an old one. Switching to the last known good control set will not undo anything since the configuration never changed.
  • Windows boots up, a user logs in, and then Windows freezes. By this point it is too late because Windows has already written over the Last Known Good Configuration backup.

–System Restore–

System Restore was haphazardly introduced back in Windows Millennium Edition, but wasn’t actually found to be useful until Windows XP was released. It’s progressively gotten better as more versions of Windows have been released, and in Vista it includes some new features.

Restore points (a.k.a. checkpoints) are, by default, created every 24 hours or when the user manually creates them. Aside from that restore points are also automatically created when some applications are installed, Windows Updates are installed, or non-signed drivers are installed.

System Restore is very selective in what it backs up. It keeps track of changed system files (extensions: EXE, BAT, DLL, etc…), Windows Registry, drivers, and more. It never touches file formats related to things like documents, email, music, and a few others that aren’t critical to the system’s operability. It will also ignore things placed in “My Documents” giving you a little reassurance that you won’t wipe out your documents during a restoration.

CAUTION: It’s important to know that all programs installed after the selected restore point will be uninstalled when rolling back your system using System Restore.

Using System Restore…

  1. Open System Restore by clicking the Start button, clicking All Programs, clicking Accessories, clicking System Tools, and then clicking System Restore.
  2. Choose a restore point and proceed through the wizard.

System Restore

One of the nice things about System Restore is that a checkpoint is also created before you proceed with the restoration. If using a restore point didn’t help you’ll always be able to jump back.

Use System Restore if…

  • Problems started to occur after you installed an application, Windows Update, or a driver.
  • You accidentally removed or modified an important system file that is causing the system not to function properly.

DON’T Use System Restore if…

  • You have installed an application since the selected restore point, and you’re afraid of losing the application itself.
  • You have important files placed throughout your computer, and you’re not sure if System Restore will ignore them. Place all of your personal files into the “My Documents” folder to ensure that they are protected.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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May 08

CyberNotes: Take Ownership of Files in Vista

Posted in: CyberNotes, Software, Tips and Tricks, Today's Chili, Windows, Windows Vista

This article was written on April 24, 2008 by CyberNet.

CyberNotes
Tutorial Thursday

Microsoft has made some good efforts to make Vista a lot more secure than previous versions of Windows by locking down files and folders on your system. They must have figured if it’s verging on painful for you to move or delete the files then it would probably be difficult for viruses to do the same. What if you wanted to modify or delete a system file for one reason or another?

This can be done by taking ownership of the file or folder. Taking ownership will not only let you manage the file or folder, but it can also be used as a way to avoid the User Account Control (UAC) prompt. For example, if you take ownership of the “Mozilla Firefox” folder in the “Program Files” you’ll never see the UAC prompt when dealing with that particular folder.

Important: It should be noted that whatever files you take ownership of could become more vulnerable to attacks.

–Manual Steps–

There are two ways to do this manually, and neither are much fun. The next section of this article offers a one-click solution, but I’m sure many of you are curious as to what taking ownership of a file or folder actually entails.

  • GUI (Graphical User Interface) – As expected being able to take ownership of a file can be done through the file properties window. We’ve already put together instructions on how to do this before, but it can be a rather daunting 5-step process if you have to do it repeatedly.
  • Command line – The How-To Geek has a great set of instructions as to how you can use the command line to take ownership of a file. It’s pretty much a two-line job, but it’s not the easiest thing in the world to remember.

–XdN Tweaker (Homepage)–

So how can we make taking ownership a little easier? There are all kinds of registry hacks floating around out there, but I’m going to point you to one of my favorite tweaking utilities for Vista. It’s called XdN Tweaker, and not only is it free but there is also a version that requires absolutely no installation.

After you get the program up and running the first thing you’ll want to do is jump to the Files & Folders section in the sidebar. In the lower-half of the screen you should see the Take Ownership option, and all you have to do is click the Add Option button:

xdn tweaker
(Click to Enlarge)

There’s no need to restart your computer once the option has been enabled. You can see the new menu item that was added whenever you right-click on a file or folder:

take ownership

Clicking on the Take Ownership option will essentially duplicate the tedious manual steps that we mentioned above, but it is a lot faster than going through it all yourself. If for some reason you decide that you don’t want the Take Ownership option to show up anymore it can be removed by simply running XdN Tweaker again and choosing the Remove Option button.

Now if only Microsoft would fine tune UAC so that it is a little easier to use, but that won’t be happening anytime soon. I guess it’s a tradeoff you have to make for the added security.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Apr 26

WrapUp: Running iPhone Apps on iPad Without Pixel Doubling, Google Redesign, and More

Posted in: ipad, Tips and Tricks, Today's Chili, WrapUp

This article was written on May 10, 2010 by CyberNet.

Welcome to the WrapUp by CyberNet. This is a collection of news stories, downloads, and tips that we have collected over the last few days, but never got around to writing about. Don’t forget to send in your own tips, or just leave a comment on this page if you think you’ve got something we should include.

–News–

google logo.jpgGoogle Redesign Goes Live
Last week Google pushed out a rather large visual makeover to their search site, which included a revamped logo. The new logo has a much more modern feel to it, and even though it will take some getting used to I’d say it is a refreshing change. The search results page also has a sidebar that is always visible, and presents additional search/filtering options.


google goggles.jpgNew Google Goggles Translates Text
I always liked where Google was heading with the Google Goggles application for the Android mobile OS, but was disappointed that they weren’t offering it on other platforms (namely the iPhone). That disappointment grew with the latest update that lets you snap a picture of some text in a foreign language, and it will OCR that image so that the text can be translated. It apparently needs a little work, but they are on to something great.


–News in Brief–

msi wind.jpgThe iPad is Not Killing Netbook Sales
Paul Thurrott points out why reports of the iPad killing netbook sales are incorrect.


perfect game.jpgGuy Wins $1 Million for Pitching a Perfect (Video) Game
An Alabama resident pitches a perfect game in the Major League Baseball 2K10 video game, and earns himself a cool $1 million for doing so.


ie9 preview 2.jpgIE9 Platform Preview 2 Released
The newest preview of IE9 boasts performance improvements and better support for standards.


BumpTop.jpgGoogle Acquires BumpTop
The makers of the 3D desktop software called BumpTop have been acquired by Google. This has left people wondering whether the software will be ported over to Android or Chrome OS.


ipad jailbreak.jpgiPhone/iPad Jailbreak Available
Spirit, the newest jailbreak, works with iPhone OS 3.1.2, 3.1.3, and 3.2 (iPad) without the devices needing to be tethered when rebooting.


invisible buttons.jpgApple Patents Invisible Buttons
One of the patents recently awarded to Apple applies to “invisible” buttons that can be placed on the MacBook’s casing.


photoshop cs5 box.jpgAdobe CS5 Shipping, Trials Available
Adobe’s Creative Suite 5 is now shipping, and trial versions can be downloaded from their site.


–Tips, Tutorials, and Reviews–

virtualbox os x.jpgVirtualBox 3.2 Beta Supports OS X VMs (on OS X Hosts)
I’ve always liked using virtual machines to test out software, but due to some licensing restrictions imposed by Apple this has never been an easy chore. The free VirtualBox software now supports using Mac OS X in a virtual machine, but only if the host operating system (the one running the virtual machine) is also Mac OS X. I’m skeptical as to whether this is a real limitation of the software, or whether we’ll see some “hacks” that will allow Windows users to also install Mac OS X in a VM. Maybe we’ll also see Windows 7 Aero support soon? Pretty please.


ipad jailbroken.jpgRunning iPhone Apps on the iPad Without Pixel Doubling
I haven’t jailbroken my iPad yet, but this is one of the reasons I want to. A simple hack will let iPhone apps running on the iPad use the native resolution instead of doubling the pixel size, which when doubled makes the text look blurry. The example Gizmodo shows with Tweetie makes the hack even more tempting… especially because I have several apps that I think this would work great with.


–Tips in Brief–

windows 7.jpgPower User’s Guide to the Windows 7
Lifehacker has a great guide that outlines all kinds of tips, keyboard shortcuts, and apps that help you get the most out of the Windows 7 Taskbar.


thx.jpgWhat is a THX Certified Display?
HDGuru walks through what it takes for a display to become THX certified.


mini google calendar.jpgStrip Down Google Calendar with Greasemonkey
This Greasemonkey script drastically simplifies the Google Calendar interface.


chrome bookmark manager.jpg10 Things to Try in Google Chrome 5 Beta
The latest Google Chrome Beta has features like native geolocation, reordering extension buttons, and more.


remote desktop.jpgEnable Concurrent Remote Desktop Connections
This script will let multiple users remotely connect to a Windows 7 machine at the same time.


capturefox.jpgCaptureFox Firefox Extensions Lets You Create Screencasts
I can’t say that I’ve seen a Firefox extension before that gives you the ability to make screencasts, but this one does.


scan to evernote.jpgHow to Configure Your HP Photosmart to Scan to Evernote
Configure your HP Photosmart scanner so that it directly sends the docs to your Evernote account.


dreamscene windows 7.jpgEnable DreamScene in Windows 7
You can finally get one of the only worthwhile Windows Vista Ultimate tools in Windows 7.


comodo time machine.jpgCreate & Manage Backups with Comodo Time Machine
MakeUseOf explains how you can use the free Comodo Time Machine to make regular snapshots of your system.


windows stack.jpgStandaloneStack Adds Mac-Like Dock to Windows 7 Taskbar
You can get Mac-like stacks on your Windows 7 Taskbar using an app like StandaloneStack.


–Downloads–

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Apr 21

Helpful Tip: “Open in New Tab” Keyboard Shortcuts

Posted in: Internet Explorer, Opera, Software, Tips and Tricks, Today's Chili

This article was written on January 15, 2008 by CyberNet.

Keyboard Bag When using your web browser there are a lot of things that you can do to speed up your efficiency and productivity, particularly when it comes to keyboard shortcuts. Thanks to a comment by Inferno_str1ke it struck me that some people may not realize the different ways you can make their browser open websites in a new tab. His comment sparked some “thank you’s” from other readers, and here’s what he had to say:

For about four months I was using the Google Toolbar search box exclusively, but now I’ve even dropped that in favour of keyword searches. I just hit Alt+D to jump to the URL box, type g,w,v,i,f for Google, Wikipedia, Google Video, Google Images and Facebook respectively, type a query and hit Enter or Alt+Enter if I want it in a new tab.

Did you know that in Firefox from the Address Bar or Search Box you can hit Alt+Enter to pull up the site in a new tab? We thought that this would be a good thing to share with all of our readers, and here’s a quick rundown of the various ways you can have sites open in a new tab for each of the different browsers:

–Firefox & Internet Explorer–

  • Ctrl+T – Open a new tab with a blank page loaded.
  • Alt+Enter – While in the Address Bar or Search Box this will open the requested site in a new tab.
  • Ctrl+Shift+Enter – When you’ve selected a link using the keyboard this shortcut will open the hyperlinked site in a new tab.
  • Ctrl+Enter – When you’ve selected a link using the keyboard this shortcut will open the hyperlinked site in a new tab in the background.
  • Ctrl+Shift+Click – When left-clicking on a link with the mouse hold down the Shift key to have the hyperlinked site open in a new tab.
  • Ctrl+Click – When left-clicking on a link with the mouse hold down the Ctrl+Shift keys to have the hyperlinked site open in a new tab in the background.

–Opera–

  • Ctrl+T – Open a new tab with Speed Dial loaded.
  • Shift+Enter – While in the Address Bar or Search Box this will open the requested site in a new tab.
  • Ctrl+Shift+Enter – While in the Address Bar or Search Box this will open the requested site in a new tab in the background.
  • Shift+Enter – When you’ve selected a link using the keyboard this shortcut will open the hyperlinked site in a new tab.
  • Ctrl+Shift+Enter – When you’ve selected a link using the keyboard this shortcut will open the hyperlinked site in a new tab in the background.
  • Shift+Click – When left-clicking on a link with the mouse hold down the Shift key to have the hyperlinked site open in a new tab.
  • Ctrl+Shift+Click – When left-clicking on a link with the mouse hold down the Ctrl+Shift keys to have the hyperlinked site open in a new tab in the background.

Hopefully we’ve saved you some time!

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Apr 20

CyberNotes: Backup Files When Your Computer is Idle

Posted in: CyberNotes, Features, Freeware, Screenshots, Software, Tips and Tricks, Today's Chili

This article was written on April 03, 2008 by CyberNet.

CyberNotes
Tutorial Thursday

The biggest reasons that I hear as to why people don’t perform backups is that they are either too lazy to set them up, or there just isn’t a good time to schedule them. The later excuse is often because they don’t want to “waste” their computer’s processing power and memory performing a backup when they are actually trying to use their computer. Sure they could leave it on overnight, but that just seems silly to leave a computer on for an extra 8 hours when all you need is 20 or 30 minutes to perform an incremental backup.

If you use one of those two excuses I’m hoping that the free Windows application I’m going to show you today will solve both of them. The solution is called IdleBackup, and as the name implies it can be used to backup important files and folders on your computer. The thing that really makes this unique is that it will check to see if the computer has been idle for at least one minute before performing a backup.

Once you get IdleBackup installed on your computer you’ll be presented with a window that looks like this:

idlebackup setup
(Click to Enlarge)

As you can see it is a pretty simple program without an over abundant amount of things to confuse you. All you have to do is check the box(es) corresponding to the areas on your computer that you want to backup. Each folder that you designate will be listed below the selection area for easy viewing.

The next thing that you’ll want to configure is the destination location for the backup files. This can be a location on the current hard drive, an external drive (memory card, USB drive, etc…), or another computer on the network:

idlebackup configure destination

idlebackup timer And lastly you’ll want to set how often the files should be backed up. Check the Automatic on box if you want IdleBackup to stay on a set interval, otherwise backups will only be performed when you manually start them. If you do decide to enable the automatic backups you’ll want to specify how often the program should check to see whether the files have changed or not.

Backups, unless manually started, will only begin once the computer is idle for one minute regardless of whether the timer has hit the magic number you specified. That means if you schedule a backup for every 15 minutes, but use your computer for four straight hours the backup won’t begin until after you’ve finished.

The countdown area will show how long you have to wait before another backup is performed, but if you see it “stuck” on 60 seconds (like in the screenshot to the right) it’s because the computer is not idle. Once there is no activity on the machine the countdown will wait 60 seconds to ensure that the computer is idle, and then it will begin the backup process.

By default the IdleBackup will check keyboard/mouse usage and CPU activity to determine whether the computer is idle. I’m not sure how low the CPU usage needs to get before being considered “idle,” but if you find that backups are never being performed it might be good to disable the Cpu activity check feature.

There are some things that would be nice to configure, such as the amount of time the PC has to be idle before initializing a backup. However, that is a tradeoff you have to make for getting an application that is extremely simple to use.

Note: The first time that you run a backup it may take awhile depending on how many things need to be transferred. After that it will only copy changed files, and will never delete a file from the destination even if it is deleted from the source.

Get IdleBackup

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Apr 19

CyberNotes: How to add Breadcrumbs to Windows Explorer in XP

Posted in: CyberNotes, Freeware, Software, Tips and Tricks, Today's Chili, Windows XP

This article was written on June 14, 2007 by CyberNet.

CyberNotes
Tutorial Thursday

One of the best features that I have found in Vista is the nicely designed Windows Explorer. It makes it easy to navigate through your folders, and allows you to put frequently used folders in the sidebar on the left side. Best of all is the great breadcrumb navigation that allows you to navigate backwards through folders with ease.

Vista’s Windows Explorer

Getting those breadcrumbs in Windows XP is actually very easy, thanks to a free application that was just released last week called QT Address Bar (Download Mirror). If the name sounds familiar, that’s because we previously wrote about a program they make called QT TabBar which puts tabs in Windows Explorer.

So now back to the breadcrumbs. I’ve only seen one other application (found on Lifehacker) that did something like this, but it didn’t take on the same appearance of Vista’s Windows Explorer. QT Address Bar is about as close as it gets, and here’s the simple steps needed to set it up:

  1. Download QT Address Bar (Download Mirror) and install it. The installation is a one-click process so it only takes a second. Oh, and the uninstallation is just as easy since all it really does is register a few things with the operating system, so you won’t find any folders in the Program Files.
    QT Address Bar
  2. Either logout of Windows XP and log back in, or restart the computer.
  3. After you’re back in Windows, open Windows Explorer. Don’t panic, you’re not supposed to see QT Address Bar yet! Right-click on a toolbar and select the QT Breadcrumbs Address Bar option from the menu:
    QT Address Bar
  4. Now that the QT Address Bar is visible and working, you should consider removing the normal address bar by right-clicking on a toolbar and unchecking the Address Bar option.
    QT Address Bar
  5. Now have fun with it! QT Address Bar actually goes one step beyond what Vista does by allowing you to deeply navigate folders from within the breadcrumbs. You can even right-click on a folder from within the breadcrumbs:
    QT Address Bar

There ya go, now everyone still using XP can benefit from one of my favorite things in Vista’s Windows Explorer. Let us know if you have any other tips on how you bring some of Vista’s features into Windows XP!

QT Address Bar (Download Mirror)

Thanks to the anonymous tipster for pointing out this program!

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Apr 18

CyberNotes: How to Change the Primary Monitor on a Laptop

Posted in: CyberNotes, Software, Tips and Tricks, Today's Chili, Windows, Windows Vista, Windows XP

This article was written on June 21, 2007 by CyberNet.

CyberNotes
Tutorial Thursday

When hooking my laptop up to an external monitor, the first thing that I like to do is extend my desktop over to that monitor. That way I am able to use my main monitor, but I am also able to utilize the screen on my laptop which practically doubles the amount of screen space I have to work with.

The only problem is that Windows has never let me choose which monitor is the primary one, and by default it always sets my laptop to be the primary display. I don’t like this because I have my main monitor in front of me, and my laptop sits more off to the side. Despite there being an option to choose which monitor is the primary one in the Display Settings, it has always been grayed out for me. After several hours of messing around, I have finally been able to figure out a solution that should work for everyone who has that option grayed out.

Vista’s External Monitor Option Grayed Out

On Windows Vista, the grayed out option reads “This is my main monitor” while on XP it says “Use this device as the primary monitor.” The two options mean the same thing, but the wording has been changed in Vista.

The reason that the option is grayed out is because some graphics cards don’t support changing the primary monitor. Well, they do, it just takes a little trickery to get it done. It won’t take you long to do, and doesn’t require you to download any additional tools or hack the registry. I was actually surprised at how easy it is after I figured out how I could get around it:

  1. Here’s what I’m starting out with: the monitor on my laptop is enabled and my external monitor disabled:
    Vista External Monitor
  2. The first thing you need to do is to enable only the monitor that you want to be the primary one. This is done by pressing the Function (Fn) key on your laptop along with the “F” key that switches the display. There should be either a picture of a monitor on the “F” key or it should say something like “CRT/LCD”. For me the key combination is Fn+F8:
    External Monitor Keyboard Shortcut
  3. So right now I have my external monitor enabled, and my laptop screen is off:
    Vista External Monitor
  4. Now I open up the Windows Display Settings, click on the box with the number 2 in it, and choose the “Extend the desktop onto this monitor.” In this case the secondary monitor is your laptop and should be the one disabled:
    Vista External Monitor
  5. Now enjoy the bliss of having the Start Menu in front of you instead of off to the side:
    Vista External Monitor

Note: You can also reverse this process to have the Start menu show up on the laptop’s monitor instead of on the external monitor.

The cool thing is that Windows will remember this setting so that every time after setting this up, it will properly designate the primary monitor. As soon as you unplug the external monitor, Windows will then move the Start Menu back to the Laptop just like you would expect it to.

Hopefully this will help someone out there because I spent hours searching the Internet trying to figure it out before finally sitting down and trying to come up with a solution myself.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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