Most cables are made out of wrapped pairs of wires, which you can imagine can’t really vary that much from one cable to the next.  Now each of these wires will be wrapped in some sort of insulation that prevents them from touching each other when they’re inside the main cable.  This is where some cables might have a thicker insulation than others, but they are still basically the same wire.  Now there is a way that some cables will differ from others in that they will have a shielding wrapped around them to protect from electromagnetic interference, which is static that comes from electrical components.

Recently I received an HDMI cable from www.optimization-world.com and I can tell you that this cable is just as good as some premium brands that will remain unnamed (mainly because they feel the need to sue everyone) I put it through a little bit of a rough test banging it around and forcing it into and out of the connectors on my T.V. and it still worked fine.

If you were to cut open premium cables and discount cables you’d find that inside they are almost identical.  The only thing that really separates premium from discount cables are the type of connector on the end.  And that can only go so far as HDMI cables all have the same type of connector.

Now throughout the course of time that I worked for Magnolia, I had several premium cables fail on me right out of the box some of which cost upwards of $100 or more.  The cable I got in the mail costs $9.99. Why would anyone want to pay so much for a cable they can get for a fraction of the price?  I’m not just saying this because they gave me a free cable, as I have plenty of cables that I already use and this is just a bonus one for my next T.V. purchase, but this cable is just as good as the others.  It feels sturdy, it’s got some of the same features as premium cables such as gold connectors and being certified HDMI.

Do you have a preference on what cables you use?  Do you stick to one brand or do you shop around and look for good deals?  Let everyone know in the comments section.

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• First, open your FTP program and login to the account where you want to change the message.

• Navigate your way to your wp-admin folder and inside you will find a file called admin-header.php

• Now you’re going to open the file using your favorite text editor, not MS word but a good one like Notepad++ and you’re going to find line #108 which reads “<p><?php printf(__(’Howdy, <a href=”%1$s” title=”Edit your profile”>%2$s</a>’), ‘profile.php’, $user_identity) ?>“

Now all you have to do is change the “Howdy” to read something more exotic like bon jour, or buenos dias.  Or maybe leave a message for one of your authors like “post more!”  Just remember that this will change the message for anyone that signs into your blog whether they are an admin or an author.

And there you have it, you’ve given your admin page a little personal touch and you won’t have to see the ugly wordpress “Howdy” greeting again.

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Now keep in mind that when using these shortcuts that you have the proper menu at the time. For example, if the keyboard shortcut you want to use is listed as a Finder Menu shortcut, then you must make sure that the menu at the top of the screen says “Finder”, otherwise you will be using a shortcut that might not be available at the time.

For Those of you who are unfamiliar with Mac keyboards, the command key is the one that looks like this:

• Shift-Command-Delete     Finder Menu     Empty Trash
• Command-Delete     File Menu     Move to Trash
• Shift-Command-N     File Menu     New Folder
• Command-N     File Menu     New Finder window
• Command-O     File Menu     Open
• Command-S     File Menu     Save
• Command-P     File Menu     Print
• Command-I     File Menu     Get Info
• Command-D     File Menu     Duplicate
• Command-L     File Menu     Make Alias
• Command-R     File Menu     Show original
• Command-E     File Menu     Eject
• Command-F     File Menu     Find
• Command-Z     Edit Menu     Undo
• Command-X     Edit Menu     Cut
• Command-C     Edit Menu     Copy
• Command-V     Edit Menu     Paste
• Command-A     Edit Menu     Select All
• Command-T     File Menu     Add to Favorites (Mac OS X 10.2.8 or earlier), Add to Sidebar (Mac OS X10.3 or later—use Shift-Command-T for Add to Favorites)

So there you have it, Easy Tech Talk’s list of most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts.  Do you have a shortcut that you use often that isn’t listed here?  Leave a comment and tell me about it and I’ll update my list with it.

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In case anyone is wondering which key I am talking about, it’s the one seen at the right.  So without any more delay, here is the list of windows key shortcuts that will make your Windows browsing experience a little better.  In case anyone doesn’t know, to perform these shortcuts you need to hold the Windows key and then press any of the letters shown below.

• Windows Key + E - Opens the Windows Explorer window.  This will allow you to find that folder you are looking for faster than double clicking your way through My Computer and the C: drive.
• Windows Key + R - Opens the Run: command window.  This is useful if you run certain programs like msconfig or sysedit.  This is mainly for advanced PC users
• Windows Key + D - Instantly brings you to the desktop.  This can be a lifesaver if you are surfing the internet and you see your boss walk by and you need to be back at the desktop screen fast.  It also helps if you load something that takes a while to load, as this will allow you to get to the desktop and cancel the program that is freezing.
• Windows Key + F - This will open the Window Search window.  This can be helpful if you are looking for files on your computer that you can’t seem to remember where you left them.
• Windows Key + M - This command will minimize all of your windows to the Taskbar.  This is similar to the Windows Key + D shortcut.
• Windows Key - Pressing just the Windows Key will open the start menu.

So there you have it, all the Windows Key shortcuts you need to know to help you be more productive at work, or in the case of Windows Key + D, a little more sly about your web surfing

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Easy Tech Talk: What made you decide to get into open source projects?
Angel Leon: Ever since I was in school in Latin America, I always felt that we could do a lot more by sharing our knowledge instead of hiding our code. Then the whole open source movement got more and more advocates, and I started using a lot of it to solve day to day problems, and also being in a position as a student  that couldn’t afford to buy expensive software licenses it was a great option having all these projects available for free with such high quality standards.

ETT: How did you get into programming?
A.L.: From a very early age I was using computers and video game consoles, it was mostly the inspiration of video games that got me to write very simple programs in Basic on my old Apple //c. Back then I had no manuals or connectivity of any sort, so I’d learn the syntax by listing the code of existing programs that came with the apple. Then the web came, and I learned HTML, JavaScript, and then in Computer Science school we started with Haskell, Modula, Pascal, C, C++, Java, PHP, … and so on.

ETT: Why did you choose the frostwire project?
A.L.: After leaving limewire I still wanted to somehow keep in touch with the code and learn more Java. The frostwire project was almost dissolved at some point and I was invited to contribute to it.

ETT: Since open source usually makes very little money, what else do you do to make ends meet?
A.L.: I’m a software engineer with over 7 years of experience in web development, I used to work full time for a company, but now I’m an independent consultant and a full time funding partner at MyBloop.com (We’re looking for investors!)

ETT: Do you think that P2P programs encourage more people to pirate software?
A.L.: I don’t think P2P encourages pirating, what encourages pirating is the lack of access to software. Some people do it because they really have no choice. Does the CD burner on your computer encourage you to pirate? I don’t think so, but it could certainly serve you to pirate. Does having a car encourage you to run over people on the street? P2P is just the next technology out there to distribute media, there were also crusades against the VCR’s, Tape Decks, The printing press and so on, it’s just part of the growing pains of evolution in media distribution, eventually big media will open their eyes and work side to side with projects like FrostWire to make their content available to as much people as they can.

ETT: What other projects are you working on?
A.L.: I’m currently working on MyBloop.com, a website that wants to offer free unlimited file storage to the world. I’m also trying to form an internet video game company with some friends, I’m very interested also in learning a lot about the Android platform.

ETT: How long have you been on the frostwire team?
A.L.: Hmm, I believe since the end of 2006, I’d have to see the repository to see when I first started doing commits.

ETT: What can you tell people out there who are interested in getting into software development?
A.L.: The best way to learn is by creating something, don’t just read about developing, actually try to get yourself to build something, the problems you’ll solve will teach you a lot. If you’re trying to pick a language to start, I’d recommend Python, it’s simple to learn and it has a lot of power.

ETT: How did you become the lead developer on frostwire?
A.L.: After the initial java developers left, we sort of divided responsibilities, managing the site, the builds and most of the code changes are some of the things I do when I work on FrostWire. My previous experience with java and software packaging pretty much put me on that role, it’s something I enjoy very much doing, and it allows me to be creative in ways I probably can’t be in my day to day job where development and decision making are more strict.

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