Do you use Pandora, but hate having to leave a browser window open? Here’s your answer…
Years ago, when Pandora first came out and everyone’s Grandma didn’t know about it, I found this nifty little utility made by an Irish guy called Daniel Mackey which allows you to run Pandora in it’s own window. The window minimizes when you close it, and hides away nicely into the notification area, and a nice clean notification balloon displays the currently playing tunes when they change. Just download and install it, uncheck the classic toolbar etc installs, and enjoy browserless* Pandora use!
Get the app here.
http://downloads.cfdan.com/pandorasBox/setup.exe
*for the real nerd tech sticklers, I know the applet basically runs a window of IE with settings that allow it to be minimized to the taskbar, but normal humans don;t need to know that… 
I’m a PC User, now how the hell do I print from my iPad? Easy.
Well… Easy, if you can read and follow instructions. Being an “IT guy”, I must sadly acknowledge that many people don’t fit the category described in the previous sentence, and are going to call someone like me to help them out… Some may even be family, and offer nice home-cooked meals as payment for services rendered… But for those of you go-getters who like to give things a shot on your own, and feel the exhilarating feeling of accomplishment that comes from overcoming a hurdle by your own merit, heres a very useful post from troublefixers.com that shows you HOW TO PRINT FROM THE iPAD USING SHARED PRINTERS on your WINDOWS PC… Should work on all iOS 4 devices…
By the way, you can find the files you need here: http://www.mediafire.com/?x1vyiuhw7nj1da8 The link on the troublefixers post is dead…
Why is my PC acting weird? It’s not always a Virus…
Most people think that all malicious computer programs are Viruses. In reality there are many more threats out there that we should worry about. Here is a nice description of all these threats so we can protect ourselves properly. First step: Know thy enemy… http://lifehac.kr/fzOji7
Lifehacker’s Top 10 Clever ways to use the Cloud…
Unlike what you hear in those stupid Microsoft commercials, “the cloud” is not somewhere you go to… It’s a way of storing things. Think of it as an omnipresent portable hard drive (omni as in: “where ever there’s Internet access”). What good is that, you may ask? Well besides making some of your information available at your connected convenience, there are many other creative ways to profit from “the cloud”‘s flexibility… Lifehacker lists wqhat they believe are the top ten clever ways to use it… http://lifehacker.com/5734265/top-10-clever-uses-for-the-cloud
Ok, FINALLY! Your computer TRULY on your iPad
Ever since I bought the iPad I have been looking for a way to run my PC’s app on Apple’s sexy tablet. In the beginning I used LogMeIn Ignition, which has great control options, and is great for remote support sessions. The one problem with Ignition, is that it sucks at media. Since I started using it, I have been dreaming of a day when I can just play a video on my home pc while connected remotely with my iPad, and have that video look as good (or at least close) to what it looks like on my PC. I was wishing to be able to go to sites with Flash embedded video, and beat Apples no-Flash policy by using my own PC to process the task. But LogMeIn Ignition just wasn’t up to snuff. 3D Applications would not work at all, video was unwatchable, audio was delayed. I simply gave up trying. I opted for AirVideo as an alternative solution to at least stream video in good quality. It was not as elegant a solution as I would have liked, but I knew, some day, an app would come that would change all that.
It is finally here. Behold Splashtop…
Imagine my astonishment when I fired up my Onlive client and it ran flawlessly, taking me in a couple of touches to the Darksiders game menu without a hitch… Amazing. I opened up ESPN3.com and started streaming the FLASH video replay of Juventus-Fiorentina… Not only did it play, but the video quality was great. I started opening every PC app and rediscovering them through the new touch interface… and then I realized something. It’s useless for typing. You can hold it in portrait mode, and the keyboard won’t cover up you entire screen, but it makes your screen a bit hard to read without zooming in. Oh well, you can’t have everything. I’m just happy that virtual computing is finally at the point where I can both thank Apple for making this beautiful little machine whilst giving them an emphatic middle finger by running my Windows 7 gaming rig on their baby, effectively turning the iPad into a new interface for Windows.
Locked out of your own computer? Here’s how to get back in!
Now, this link can be used if you have a Windows PC you need to access, but somehow forgot the password. It should not be used to get into your bosses computer at work, or to hack computers at Best Buy and Install Linux on them (as fun as that might have been that one time). Here’s a nice post from lifehacker that explains how to get into a Windows PC for which you lack the password.
With great knowledge, comes great power to do harm. Use your powers righteously.
The lifehacker post on cracking windows… http://lifehacker.com/5674972/how-to-break-into-a-windows-pc-and-prevent-it-from-happening-to-you
How to get any song, right now, for FREE…
The main rule is, if it’s on YouTube, it’s fair game. Ok, so let’s say I want an mp3 file of an Old School Classic like Queen Latifah’s Dance for Me … That’s a hard to find CD these days. But the song is on YouTube, so I just copy the video address from my address bar, and go to Dirpy.com, paste the address of the video in there, and presto! I can download the video in various formats or simply “Record” an mp3 of the audio in the video. There you go, FREE music. You’re welcome.
DISCLAIMER: I am in no way advocating piracy, if you like an album or a song you should pay the artist for it. But since most of the money from record sales go to the labels, if you really want to support artists, go to their shows, follow their social media and spread the word!
UPDATE: For files that don’t work with Dirpy (some copy protected files, for example) try the alternative: www.mp3ify.com
UPDATE2: Sorry folks, Dirpy.com has since been nuked out of existence, so your best best is still www.mp3ify.com
Television: Thy end is near…
Seriously, why are you paying for cable? Or DirecTV? Or any TV for that matter? You can eliminate that expensive (often over $100) TV bill from your budget, by attaching one of these babies to your TV set, and pay only for internet access. Every show you would want to watch on TV, you can watch online. As a matter of fact, I find myself watching many shows that I would have never been able to watch on regular TV programming!
GoogleTV is just an iteration of what internet based TV is becoming. If you ask me, for the ultimate experience, attach a gaming PC to your set… then you can ditch the TiVo, the cable subscription, and the consoles all together!
Your PC really hates Browser Toolbars, and so should You!
Why do I hate browser toolbars? They are an infinite source of all the evil shit on most users’ PCs. Embedded Spyware? Check. Tracking Cookies? Of course. How about installing additional malware in the background while the user browses? Toolbars do all of this, and more. Ironically, the only thing they don’t do, is what “tools” were created for in the first place: making our lives easier…
If you have a Toolbar, or even if you don’t know if you have one, you should go to the Control Panel, then Programs and Features (Add/Remove
Programs on XP), and remove anything you see in your apps list that has Toolbar in the name… You’ll be glad you did. If you want to be thorough in the removal process, use RevoUninstaller…
For an extended discussion on the subject, as well as other anti-Toolbar tips, check out this link… http://porkchopreviews.com/2009/06/30/internet-toolbars/
Be Safe Online!
Fix for Flash Video Fullscreen issue on dual-monitors!
Do you have dual monitors? Does it annoy you that you can’t watch full screen flash video on one monitor while working on the other one? Go here for a fix that will allow you to maximize flash video on one monitor, without it minimizing every time you click on the other monitor…
http://deve.loping.net/projects/ignoflash/