Dexters's Blog

TAlent HUnt

2009-02-02T05:21:00.000-08:00

Have you ever noticed the numerous reality shows that are being telecasted over our idiot boxes? I think very few of us have noticed and given thought to this nuisance which is being continued without any restriction. The series of such programmes was started few years back, such an initiative of searching bringing talents was praised and liked by everyone, but nobody ever noticed that what will be the after comes of such shows.
Earlier they were just based on the genuine performances of the participants , the judgments were made by judges only and the live viewers on the show, but sooner it mingled with lucrative advertisement and sponsorship and the judgements are being done through sms’s and online votings.There are many a times `disputes has been created and voice has been raised against biased judgments by the organizers and the judges.
The poor silly viewer is just clapping sitting infront of his vaccum tube don’t know what ostensible job channels are doing .Each and every episode and act of the play is planned even the decisions and quarrelling of judges too(it’s a matter of TRP friends!!)

The perform talent hunt shows of dance, singing, mimicry and acting .I want to ask that only theses things are called talents can’t they think something different to these few categories of talent Can’t they organize some educational talent programmes in which scholarships aur educational rewards for needy people are given , quizzes ,reality shows related to our environment . They will say they are doing all this in the name of cultural talent and say they are nourishing and flourishing cultural roots, infact they are just polluting young minds .They are making youth to day dream ,they make them to think that money can be made in a day or two, the name and fame they can get through reality shows is not long lasting.
When will we understand that imitating others can create trouble to us .Similar to Americal Idol we started Indian Idol, UK’s famous show Who wants to be millionaire we started KBC (and every one knows the only man who became millionaire was only Mr. Bacchan the host of this show charging huge sum), similarly many dance shows we started ,.Every one knows how many new talents these shows has given we can count them on fingers, and few days later they get fainted away.. They are not fools who will give chances to newcomers , afterall it may create threat to those who are established( and are now woking as judges of the show ).

The overcrowding of such shows over TV channels is not exploring new talents despite they are exploiting talents.It must be given some pause , so that the best comes out .
Now their target are childs , launching new shows liitle champs, n blah blah…
They are diverting these germinating talents from studies towards small screen. Its really terrible to watch so small kids doing such tough dances singing and acting , my views might be contradicting to few people but many of us don’t know that these kids are put on rigorous training of dace practice ,singing and acting . Parents are so much overwhelmed with the charm of small screen that they are promoting their kids to join dance classes, singing classes at very early age , it has became prestige issue for parents that their boy or girl should appear next on tv screen. At which stage child should remember his syllabus he is singing songs like any other mature singer ,think about the database of songs in his /her memory or dialogues of acting. I can bet he might be not knowing the meaning of many words that he is spelling at this early age.

Each child watching these super kids on TV wants to imitate like them , they are doing mimicry cracking dirty jokes of dual meaning . Nobody is giving attention towards all theses mishappenings everyone is enjoying the name fame and money thus parents are happy , sponsors are happy and TV channels nothing more to say they are the happiest person.
I think we must implement some restrictions over such shows and organizers .If we want talent to grow let it grow in all directions why only vertically or only horizontally .Come up with new theme of shows which may stimulate young minds , which may infuse youth with education & dedication to learn and promote scientific knowledge. Don’t make them day dreamers and sell dreams to become celebrity in a night .Other than celebrity there are lot more people who live and contribute in proper functioning of this social engine of our society like engineers ,doctors, teachers, scientists and managers .So now its time to think out of box and promote young minds towards knowledge because its an age of knowledge and Knowledge is Power & that Indian youth needs more.

Add "My Computer" to Your Vista / XP Taskbar

2008-10-10T01:36:00.000-07:00

At times we want to have the quickest access to the folders located in different drives or directly to a drive. We can do that by putting it onto the taskbar. We can even put My Computer onto the taskbar

To add a Folder or My Computer to the taskbar, just right-click on the taskbar and choose the Toolbars menu, and then click on New Toolbar.

Now find the folder that you want, in this case we will select the My Computer icon and then click on OK./Select.

Now you can see the My Computer folder right there on the taskbar. If you click the little arrows it will pop up and let you browse through all your drives.

You can add the Desktop to the toolbar as well.

Add Copy To / Move To to the Windows Explorer Right Click Menu

2008-10-10T01:35:00.001-07:00

We often need to copy / move files between various locations. It would be helpful for us if we can just right click on the file and select Copy to or Move to. We can do that work with a little Ragistry Hacking. Before making any changes to the Windows Registry you must take a backup.

Make Copy To

Make Move To

Navigate to the following key
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers
Once you are at that key, right click and choose the New Key option:
Now you will double-click on the (Default) value and enter the following:
{C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}
Close Registry Editor. Restart the PC and you are done.
Now when you right click on a file or folder, you should see the Copy To / Move To options on the right click shortcut menu.
This works both in Windows Xp and Vista

Delete IE7 Browsing History From the Command Line

2008-10-10T01:33:00.000-07:00

At times we need to delete IE history, cookies, saved passwords etc. Its a lengthy process if we do it from desktop internet explorer icon or IE tools menu. What if we can clear everything or a selected one or two from command prompt or using batch file.

Here are the commands that relates to the different buttons. You can use these command directly from command prompt, run box or can use in combination in a batch file.

Temporary Internet Files
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 8
Cookies
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 2
History
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 1
Form Data
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 16
Passwords
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 32
Delete All
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 255
Delete All - "Also delete files and settings stored by add-ons"
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 4351
These commands should work in Internet Explorer 7 on XP or on Windows Vista.

Remove Shared Folders From My Computer - Registry Tweaks

2008-10-10T01:30:00.000-07:00

To remove the shared folders in the My Computer view, delete the value {59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee} in the following key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\My Computer\NameSpace\DelegateFolders

Hide the Keyboard Navigation Settings

2008-04-01T02:39:00.001-07:00

Start/Run/Regedit - This restriction disables the "Hide keyboard navigation indicators until I use the ALT key" option in the Display Control Panel.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Value Name: NoChangeKeyboardNavigationIndicators Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value) Value Data: (0 = default, 1 = enable restriction) Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called 'NoChangeKeyboardNavigationIndicators' and edit the value according to the settings above.

Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect.

Remove "All Programs" Button from the Start Menu

2008-04-01T02:38:00.004-07:00

Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Policies\Explorer HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Policies\Explorer

Value Name: NoStartMenuMorePrograms Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value) Value Data: (0 = default, 1 = disable button) Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called 'NoStartMenuMorePrograms' and edit the value according to the settings below. Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect.

Remove Username from the Start Menu

2008-04-01T02:38:00.003-07:00

Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Policies\Explorer HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Policies\Explorer

Value Name: NoUserNameInStartMenu Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value) Value Data: (0 = display username, 1 = hide username) Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called 'NoUserNameInStartMenu' and edit the value according to the settings below. Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect.

Remove Pinned Programs List from the Start Menu

2008-04-01T02:38:00.001-07:00

Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Policies\Explorer Value Name: NoStartMenuPinnedList Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value) Value Data: (0 = default, 1= enable restriction) Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called 'NoStartMenuPinnedList' and edit the value according to the settings below.

Note: This setting only applies to the Windows XP Start Menu, not the Classic Start Menu. Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect.

Remove Frequent Programs List from the Start Menu

2008-04-01T02:36:00.000-07:00

Start/Run/Regedit
You may need to create the key if it does not already exist. Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called 'NoStartMenuMFUprogramsList' and edit the value according to the settings below.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Policies\Explorer HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Policies\Explorer Value Name: NoStartMenuMFUprogramsList Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value) Value Data: (0 = default, 1 = enable restriction).

Note: This setting only applies to the Windows XP Start Menu, not the Classic Start Menu. Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect.

Disable Show Last User Name

2008-04-01T02:25:00.001-07:00

Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Policies\System Value Name: dontdisplaylastusername Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value) Value Data: (1 = remove username) Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called 'dontdisplaylastusername' and edit the value according to the settings above. Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect.

Clear Cached Command Lines from the Run Menu

2008-04-01T02:24:00.003-07:00

Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RunMRU. Delete the value corresponding to the command you want to remove, or remove all the entries to clear the list completely.

Clear the NetMeeting Call History

2008-04-01T02:24:00.001-07:00

Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Conferencing\UI\CallMRU. Open your registry and delete the key above. Restart Netmeeting for the change to take effect.

Activate Clear Type on the Welcome Screen

2008-04-01T02:23:00.002-07:00

Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_USERS/.DEFAULT/Control Panel/Desktop. In the right pane, right click "FontSmoothingType", modify, change the value to 2.

Change the Login Window

2008-04-01T02:23:00.001-07:00

Start/Run/Regedit Key
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\ CurrentVersion\Winlogon] Value Name: LogonType Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value) Value Data: (0 = Classic Mode, 1 = Welcome Screen) Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called 'LogonType' and edit the value according to the settings below. Reboot.

Enable Start Menu Scrolling

2008-04-01T02:22:00.004-07:00

Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced. Value Name: StartMenuScrollPrograms, Data Type: REG_SZ (String Value), Value Data: "Yes" or "No". Create a new String value, or modify the existing value, called 'StartMenuScrollPrograms' and edit the value according to the settings below.

Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect. Note: This can be used either on a user by user basis by adding it to HKEY_CURRENT_USER or on a computer wide basis by adding it to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

Preventing the Logon Screen Saver from Launching

2008-04-01T02:22:00.003-07:00

Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop. Value Name: ScreenSaveActive, Data Type: REG_SZ (String Value), Value Data: (0 = disabled, 1 =enabled). Change the value of 'ScreenSaveActive' to '0' to disable the screen saver. Restart Windows for the change to take effect. Note: Windows has a default screen saver called login.scr, which runs even if no screen saver has been selected.

Change the Transition Effect for Menus and Tooltips

2008-04-01T02:22:00.001-07:00

Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop] Value Name: UserPreferencesMask Data Type: REG_BINARY (Binary Value) Double-click on the "UserPreferencesMask" value to open the Edit Binary Value screen. Press the right arrow to move over to the second set of digits. Press the delete key to remove the digits and type either '28' for the scroll effect or '3e' for the fade effect. Restart Windows for the change to take effect.

Add Your Own Tips

2008-04-01T02:21:00.002-07:00

Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Explorer\Tips. Data Type: REG_SZ (String Value), Value Data: Tip Text. Create a new string valued named by incrementing the existing value names and set it to the required tip text.

Create a Useful Name for My Computer

2008-04-01T02:21:00.001-07:00

Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\ {20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}. Data Type: REG_EXPAND_SZ (Expanded String Value). Rename the value named "LocalizedString" to "LocalizedString.old". Create a new REG_EXPAND_SZ value named "LocalizedString", and set the value to "%USERNAME% on %COMPUTERNAME%". Exit the registry editor, click on your desktop and press F5 (for refresh). The "My Computer" icon should now be rename to "Username on Computername".

Remove Common Groups from the Start Menu

2008-04-01T02:20:00.000-07:00

Start/Run/Regedit> HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer Create a DWORD called NoCommonGroups and set the value to 1 to hide them, 0 to display them.

Force the Use of the Classic Start Menu

2008-03-30T02:39:00.001-07:00

Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Policies\Explorer. Value Name: NoSimpleStartMenu, Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value), Value Data: (1 = force classic menu, 0 = default). Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called 'NoSimpleStartMenu' and edit the value according to the settings below. Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect.

Display the Attributes Column in Explorer

2008-03-30T02:38:00.004-07:00

Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Explorer\Advanced. Value Name: ShowAttribCol, Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value), Value Data: (0 = disable, 1 = enable). Create a new DWORD value called 'ShowAttribCol' and set the value to '1' to enable the attributes column.

Change the Title of Windows Media Player

2008-03-30T02:38:00.003-07:00

Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\ WindowsMediaPlayer. Value Name: TitleBar, Data Type: REG_SZ (String Value). Create a new string value called "TitleBar" and set it to the text you would like display in the title. Restart Media Player for the change the take effect.

Change the Message Shown on the Logon Box

2008-03-30T02:38:00.001-07:00

Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\ CurrentVersion\Winlogon. Value Name: LogonPrompt, Data Type: REG_SZ (String Value). Create a new string value named 'LogonPrompt' and enter the text you want to display. The default message is: 'Enter a user name and password that is valid for this system.' This feature can be used in conjunction with the Legal Notice Dialog Box Before Logon tweak.