News and other tidbits that Chad Cloman finds interesting enough to share
Mental Floss is holding a contest for students, where five winners will each receive $10,000 to be applied towards tuition. Even if you’re not eligible for the prize, the site is one that I regularly read and recommend.
Here at the Chad’s News network command center we’ve read lots of online articles that list various performance tweaks for Windows—and we’ve even implemented a few. Turns out that not all of them actually increase performance.
Link: http://lifehacker.com/…
The linked article has a nice list of add-ons for Windows Explorer. I really like the one that adds tabs.
Link: http://lifehacker.com/…
Web designers have long known better than to use the annoying tag (or even its CSS counterpart). But there are some not-so-good designers who seem to consider the <BLINK> tag to be an elegant and forceful statement. Fortunately the linked article tells how to configure Firefox such that blinking text is disabled.
Link: http://lifehacker.com/…
The linked article describes various ways to safely clean LCD monitor screens. It was written in response to a situation where grandkids used permanent markers to draw on a monitor.
Link: http://www.komando.com/…
Here at the Chad’s News network command center, we plan to continue using Windows XP for a long, long time. But we recognize that some people have purchased new equipment and are pretty much forced to use Windows Vista. The linked article has some nice tips for making Vista less annoying.
Link: http://lifehacker.com/…
The linked site has a huge library of user’s manuals that you can download and print. For those so inclined, you can also upload documents.
Link: http://safemanuals.com/
(via Kim Komando)
With the release of Firefox 3 yesterday, the linked article has some tips for the power user.
Link: http://lifehacker.com/…
Some tips on what and what not to do when you’re pulled over by the police.
Link: http://www.caranddriver.com/…
(via digg)
Windows XP and Vista support two file systems for writable optical discs: “Live File System” and “Mastered”. The Mastered format is compatible with pre-XP versions of Windows as well as ordinary CD/DVD players that can read and play MP3s. The latest version of Live File System, however, is only compatible with WinXP or later versions of Windows. This would not normally be a problem, except that Microsoft has made Live File System the default format under Vista. Depending on who is going to use the disc, it may be necessary to change the format to Mastered.
Thanks to Kim Komando for this topic.
With the advent of Windows 95, Microsoft took the ability to edit environment variables and buried it in an obscure part of the system configuration, known only to the chosen few. To make matters worse, the dialog used to edit/display environment variables is too small and can’t be resized. The linked application, Redmond Path, makes it very easy to modify one particular environment variable: the system path.
Update: It appears they’re also developing a utility with which to manage the other environment variables. It will be available here when completed.
Link: http://redmondlab.googlepages.com/…
(via Lifehacker)
HDTV color, brightness, and contrast levels are set by the manufacturer to look great in brightly-lit retail stores, and once you get it home, the picture quality isn’t nearly as good. Thus the need to calibrate your HDTV. You can do it yourself, or pay a professional.
Update: Getting a professional to make the changes may not be such a good idea.
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/…
(via Lifehacker)
